True Confessions
by ishxallxgood
Summary: Temari's in town to invite everyone to Gaara's birthday party... Feelings are suppressed but will they come out by the time they get to Suna? Shika x Tema, Neji x Tenten, Choji x Ino
1. Back in Konoha

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters in anyway... this is strictly a fan fic. **

**I try to keep the characters personalities as closely as Masashi Kishimoto created them, but there are some exaggerations. Please read and review... let me know if you like. ;D **

**Shika x Tema FTW!~ **

* * *

"Do you like really think this will work?" The bubbly blond looked skeptically at him, her long ponytail swishing as they walked.

He looked at her with his usual look of indifference and shrugged, "I suppose."

"Hmmm… good enough for me!" She flashed him a big smile and giggled as she latched herself onto his arm. "Then like I suppose its game time!"

He sighed as he felt her body press against his side, her incessant giggling and squealing making him question why he asked her to play this part. He should have known that she would have been unbearably irritating, for a moment he wondered what this little game would prove anyway. So what if she reacted the way he predicted she would, would that really prompt him to make a move? Highly unlikely. He was really quite tempted to call off this ridiculous plan and apologize to his friend for wasting her time, but at that moment he caught sight of her from the corner of his eye. A fiery blond with her short hair pulled back in her usual style of four evenly placed pigtails, an over-sized fan strapped to her back and the usual scowl she wore on her face was more intense than normal as she stared directly at him; smiling inside he knew his little plan worked.

She shuddered at the sight of that bimbo on his arm; her eyes narrowed intensifying her scowl. She felt an uncontrollable urge to wrap the girl's long blond hair around her hand and violently rip her away from him, slamming her face into the pavement in the process. The closer she got, the more her livid she became, the scene disgusted her, but her own emotions repulsed her even more. Why did she care who he was with anyway, why did she care that that pretty little thing was on his arm, why did she want to smash her face in? It's not like he meant anything to her, and it's not like she _liked _him or anything. Besides, he was just a lazy, irritating, immature, sexist, know-it-all, and she knew she could do so much better. Suppressing her anger, she walked by them, purposely bumping into him as she held her head up high, avoiding all eye contact.

The bubbly blond perked up as the girl collided with her friend. "Ugh, how rude! Hey Shika… do you like think she even saw you…? She like didn't even say anything when she bumped into you!" She looked back at the receding figure of the fiery blond and stuck her tongue out at her.

He looked at the bubbly blond and shook his head, noting how unobservant she could be at times. "Yea, she noticed." On the surface he wore his usual lethargic look, but on the inside his heart was pounding uncontrollably. He couldn't wipe the image of her beautiful teal eyes from his mind, never mind that they were narrowed in anger and disgust, that was the reaction he had wanted. Nor could he stop feeling the soft fabric of her shirt and her hard shoulder when she made contact with him, even the light flowery scent of her perfume lingered ever so slightly.

"Hmmm… well… sure… if you like say so… but I like totally don't think she noticed you…" She giggled releasing his arm. "Well I like have to go now… Choji's like waiting for me… he told me he's going to like take me to this new restaurant that just like opened…"

"Oh… right... sorry for keeping you… thanks…"

"It's not big deal… I like told him already, but I'm sure he like already knew…" She giggled again and gave him a brief hug before running off.

He sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets, wondering why he came up with this harebrained plan anyway. She's probably beyond pissed off right now, and in a little while he would be on the receiving end of her violent tendencies. Sometimes he wondered why he was so infatuated with that girl anyway.

* * *

She continued toward the Hokage's office, her blood boiling. Every now and again she would conjure up new and grotesque ways of relieving that bubbly bitch of her head. Those scenes really helped her calm down and by the time she reached the office, she even found herself smirking at her sadistic thoughts. Stopping in front of the door she composed herself before knocking.

"Come in."

The door creaked open and the fiery blond let herself into the office, her over-sized fan brushing the side of the door frame. The Hokage was reclining in her chair, her feet on the mess of papers on top of her desk, slowly sipping a cup of tea as she continued the read the scroll she held with her other hand. She cleared her throat announcing her presence.

The woman lowered the pages she was reading as sat up. "Oh, hey there Temari, you got here quicker than I thought you would."

Temari smiled. "Yea… the mission was a bit easier than I had expected."

"Oh that's good. So what did you want to see me for?"

"Well you see, it's Gaara's birthday in a week and we were thinking of throwing him a surprise birthday party. Kankuro and I were thinking that maybe you can spare a few of your ninjas for his party… being that Gaara's closest friends seem to be from the leaf village." Temari shifted her weight; this request sounded a little more foolish out loud than it was when they had come up with it.

"Hmmm… in a week eh?" the Hokage shuffled some papers around occasionally looking at a few scrolls. "Well it seems that a few of them are on missions right now, but they should be back in the next few days. Who exactly did you have in mind?"

Temari pulled out the little notebook she always kept on her and flipped to a page near the middle. "Naruto, Sakura, Lee, Neji, Tenten, Hinata, Kiba, Shino, Choji, Shikamaru and Ino." Her voice cracked a little as she read the last two names, and she hoped that the Hokage missed that.

The Hokage thought for a little bit and then smiled. "Naruto, Lee, Neji, Hinata, and Shino are all on missions right now, the rest should be around. I can keep them free for the next week or so, so you can feel free to ask them. I'll let you know when the others return, so just stick around the village for a couple of days if you don't mind."

Temari nodded. "Will do, thank you Hokage-sama."

* * *

Aimlessly she walked around the familiar village. She's been here multiple times, and was quite surprised that they had rebuilt it exactly as it was after its annihilation by the Akatsuki.

"Temari!?" a cheery voice called out. "Is that you?"

She turned to see a cheery brunette with her hair in two buns waving at her, bouncing up and down extremely excited to see her. A smile broke through on her solemn face and she waved back.

Smiling the cheery brunette ran toward Temari and threw her arms around her. "What are you doing here!? I feel like I haven't seen you in ages!"

Temari laughed as her friend released her from the hug. "Has it been that long? I feel like I was here just a couple of months ago!"

The cheery brunette frowned. "Yea, I heard you were here... but I was on a mission…"

"It's okay. I'll be here for a couple of days, so we can catch up. Besides, I'm here to invite you to Gaara's birthday party... wanna come?"

"Really?" the cheery brunette's eyes sparkled. "I get to go to Suna!? And not for a mission!?" Without warning she launched herself at her friend once more.

The impact of the hug knocked Temari off her feet and they both came crashing to the ground. Ignoring the commotion they were causing, the two of them started giggling like little schoolgirls. "I'll take that as a yes." Temari smiled as she stood up and dusted off her clothes, grateful that her friend was excited about going.

"So are you hungry? Let's go get something to eat and talk about everything that's going on in our lives!" Without waiting for an answer the cheery brunette linked her arm with her friend's and started leading her toward the new barbecue restaurant that she had always wanted to try.

* * *

"... so then he like came up to her and was totally like 'I love you…' but she like totally didn't believe him at all! And she shouldn't have! He's like just a ly-"

"Hey Ino, can we stop talking about Kiba already. What ever happened with that thing Shikamaru wanted you to do?" He didn't mean to cut her off so abruptly but she have been going on about what she saw yesterday for the past forty minutes and quite honestly he couldn't take anymore. Shoving another piece of barbecue pork into his mouth he waited for her to tell him about what he actually wanted to know.

"Oh that?" she shrugged as she put more meat onto the grill. Flipping her bangs out of her face she sat back, watching it cook. "Nothing I guess... she like just walked by us… I don't think she like even noticed him… but he's like totally convinced she did. Apparently he was like happy with the outcome or something..."

"Hmmm… well if Shikamaru said she noticed then she must have noticed. You know he's never wrong." He shook his head, she was pretty unobservant for a ninja. It was no surprise that people referred to her as a blond bimbo.

Ino shrugged. Watching him shove more food into his mouth, she wondered how one person could eat so much. "I suppose you're right... but like still... I don't see it. What does he like see in her anyway? She like looks like she's always mad at something... and like quite frankly I like don't think she's all that pleasant to like be around..." She checked the meat she just put on and continued playing with the ends of her long ponytail.

"But you haven't even really been around her that much... she seems nice... judging by the few times I've hung out with her and by what Shika says about her... and if Shikamaru likes her then she must be a good person…"

"Really? Cause like every time I've ever seen her she has like this horrible scowl on her face or something... I do say though... if she like put on some make up and like smiled more or something she could be like totally gorgeous! But still... I like think the few times I've like spoken to her she was like very curt with me... or she would like ignore me like I wasn't even there! Hmmm... maybe she like doesn't like me or something... or maybe she's like totally jealous of me!" She giggled uncontrollably as those words tumbled out of her mouth.

He shook his head in disappointment. Sometimes he wonders how he ended up with her, sure she's hot and all, and she could be serious sometimes, like when they were actually fighting on a mission, but outside of that she really just rambles without thinking. "For some reason I highly doubt that..."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean? Why wouldn't she be like jealous of me? I'm like smart and beautiful... and like look at this body! C'mon! Like who wouldn't be jealous of this!?"

He laughed. "I suppose... you _are _pretty hot..."

"Pretty hot? I think you mean like smokin' hot!" She threw some of the cabbage that was on the table at him.

"Yes, yes... smoking hot..." He laughed again, picking up the cabbage he filled it with some meat off the grill and ate it.

"But like seriously... doesn't she always look like pissed off at something? I mean like what's with that scowl... I like honestly don't think that girl like knows how to smile..."

"Oh? Look behind you..." he said gesturing toward the door with his chopsticks.

Ino turned around and saw Temari gesture toward the giant fan she carried on her back and then burst out laughing with her companion. They had just walked into the restaurant and was now being seated by the hostess. Turning back toward Choji she mouthed the word "wow" and slumped back into her seat.

The cheery brunette punched her friend in the arm. "No way! I can't believe he said something like that! Did it work?"

"Ha! Totally! Who would have thought! Girls can be so foolish sometimes… a few sweet words and they're all twisted around a guy's finger." They followed the waitress toward an empty table. The smell of all the meat cooking on the table top grills all around her excited Temari. It has been a while since she's had barbecue, in fact she can't quite pinpoint the last time she had barbecue. They didn't really have barbecue in Suna so it was probably when she was last here, which means she was with him… she felt the scowl begin to form as thoughts of him entered her mind.

"Hey what are you thinking about? Your expression suddenly changed…" the cheery brunette looked inquisitively at her friend.

"Hmmm? No… what? I'm fine… nothing..." she broke eye contact from her friend and sat down at the table.

"It's about a boy isn't it! Come on! Just admit it… you like someone… someone from Konoha… OH!!!!!"

Before her friend could say another word, her arm shot up and she covered her friend's mouth with her hand. "Tenten, don't say his name!" She turned a few shades of red and then pale and then red again.

"Oh my… I can't believe I've never noticed! But then again... you guys are always together..." Tenten giggled pulling Temari's hand from her face.

Temari felt her face flush even more, she couldn't believe that he could have such an effect over her body. "Stop it… please… and it's not even like I really _like_ him… I don't know… I just find myself thinking about him a lot…"

"Then you most definitely like him!"

Temari raised an eyebrow as she looked at her friend, "Oh? Then does that mean you're admitting to liking Neji?"

Now it was Tenten's turn to turn different shades of red. "No… wh-what makes you say that? I d-don't like Neji like that… h-he's just a really good friend..."

Temari threw her head back in laughter. "C'mon! You're not fooling anyone! You're even stuttering right now… you should just admit it and tell him already! I'm sure he's totally into you too… I mean just look at you! You're a strong, beautiful kunoichi that has a knack for weaponry. Plus you're sweet, kind, and you have the most beautiful smile…"

Tenten blushed deeper. "Really? You think so? I don't know… I really can't imagine him thinking about me like that… and whenever I attempt to muster up the courage to tell him how I feel, I end up like Hinata, a stuttering, blubbering, blushing idiot…"

"Hmmm… so I guess we're all blubbering idiots when it comes to men…" Temari stared at the menu in front of her. "Hey… let's get the spare ribs… and beef."

Ino kept shifting her gaze over to the table across the restaurant. She couldn't quite believe what she was seeing, Temari and Tenten laughing together like little school girls. "Humph… I like wonder what they're talking about…"

Choji looked up from his food at her. "What's it matter to you anyway? Stop paying so much attention to them, they'll know you're staring." He kicked her leg trying to get her to turn away from them.

"You think I should like use my Shintenshin to find out how she like feels about him?"

"NO! Don't even think about doing that… that's just wrong." He couldn't believe that she would even come up with something so foolish.

"What? Really? Why not? Don't you like think Shika would like appreciated it if we like found out for him?" She shifted in her seat again trying to get a better view, hoping that she might be able to catch some of their conversation. "They're like totally talking about something interesting… look even Tenten's blushing!"

He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back into her chair. "Come on Ino… stop that already… you're gonna make a scene."

The movement across the room caught Temari's eye. She turned to see a hefty red haired guy pull on Ino's arm, sitting her back down in the chair. Without noticing it, a look of disgust crept across her face. "I can't believe that whore is with _another_ guy now..."

"Hmmm?" Tenten looked up from placing the meat onto the grill and followed her friend's gaze. "Oh you mean Ino and Choji? What do you mean another guy? Those two have been together for a while now... six maybe seven months... I didn't think she was like that..."

"What? But earlier… I saw… Ino…" Her thoughts were racing between the scene in front of her and the scene she had witnesses almost an hour ago. Then it hit her like a ton of bricks… that asshole was playing with her.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Tenten looked inquisitively at her friend.

"Nothing... I'm just going to kill that asshole..." Temari stabbed at the meat on the grill, releasing her anger on her food. She exhaled examining the damage she did on the meat and smiled. "Ah, whatever... I'm not gonna let that irritating, immature, lazy ass, boy ruin my mood..."

Tenten smiled. "That's the spirit... so who are you inviting to Gaara's birthday thing anyway?"

"Basically everyone he knows... ha... he really doesn't have a lot of friends in Suna... everyone's still too scared of him." Temari fiddled with her chopsticks as she waited for the meat to cook. "I really should be going around trying to find everyone to invite. Maybe I'll go ask those two now..."

Despite Choji's attempts to restrain her, Ino kept shifting in her chair to get a better view of Temari and Tenten. "Shit! I think she like saw me!" Ino slumped down into her chair and stared at Choji nervously.

"I told you you'd attract her attention..." He said causally as he shrugged and piled more meat onto the piece of cabbage.

"Ugh, I like totally think she hates me... she like looks all pissed off again..." She couldn't help but look over again, curious to see what was happening. "Fuck! She's like coming over here now..."

Temari made her way over to Choji and Ino, trying to look as pleasant as possible. It's not like she hated them or anything, in fact she barely knew them. Yeah, she's been in Konoha multiple times, but she only really hung out with Shikamaru. All she knew was that Choji is Shikamaru's lap dog, who agrees with anything Shikamaru says, and Ino was just some ditsy blond who giggled and talked way too much for her own good. Putting on the best smile she could conjure up she greeted them.

"Hey Temari, what's up? Shikamaru mentioned that you were going to be in town." Choji managed to say between bites.

"H-hi..." Ino waved and slumped back into her chair, poking at the food in front of her.

"Sorry if I'm intruding on something here, but I noticed you guys were here too and I'm not sure when I'd catch you guys again... so... yea. Kankuro and I are throwing Gaara a birthday party next week and we were wondering if you guys would like to come. I already talked to the Hokage so you guys will be free if you want to come..." She attempted to sound as friendly as possible, she was still quite irritated by the scene from earlier, even though she now knew it was staged.

When Ino realized that Temari wasn't a threat she relaxed and perked up at the mention of Gaara's birthday party. "Oh totally! I like love parties! What do you like think he'll want?"

Temari sighed_. This girl is such a freaking ditz_! "Whatever you want... he'd appreciate anything..."

Choji nodded his mouth full of food, acknowledging that he too would be coming to the party.

"Ok cool... I'm sure he's going to be happy that everyone will be there... just make sure you guys get to Suna by next Wednesday. I'll be heading back once I get in touch with everyone so we can start setting up for the party." Forcing another smile Temari waved as she made her way back to Tenten.

Tenten bursted out laughing when Temari get back to the table, receiving a slight shove as Temari slipped back into the booth. "That was hilarious! You should have seen your expression when you were talking to them! Talk about tense!"

"Shut up... you have no idea..." Temari shook her head, as if that action would erase the scene from earlier, which kept replaying itself in her head. "I'm swear going to kill that asshole..."

Tenten laughed again, amused by her friend's experssions. "You're too much Tema..."

* * *

**So this is the start of my very first fan fic... ;D please let me know what you think...! I'm currently working on the second chapter... hopefully it'll pick up from there... **


	2. Of Lavender and Mint

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters in anyway... this is strictly a fan fic. **

**We finally get to the Shika Tema interactions!~ ;D**

**Shika x Tema FTW!~ **

* * *

He lay there staring up at the clouds that floated by, flicking the zippo lighter on and off. His eyes would drift occasionally when the sun caught the brushed metal of the lighter, reflecting for a moment. All he could think about was her eyes, those beautiful teal eyes, staring intently at him, a hint of anger, disgust and frustration in them. He wondered what it was about her that made him so crazy, she was nothing special. She was just a stubborn, bossy, feisty, rude, cranky, violent tyrant who he wanted nothing to do with. Yet sometimes when he would catch a warm tone in her voice, or a slight glint in her eye, shivers would run down his spine, the good kind of shivers, like when someone touches you just the right way. He loved how her scent would linger even after she had passed, how her smooth tanned skin felt under his hand when ever he grabbed her arm, and how she threw her head back when she laughed, accentuating her long neck and perfectly sculpted collarbones.

She sighed as she made her way toward the grassy clearing where she knew he'd be lying. She was still agitated by the images of Ino clinging on to his arm, snuggling against his neck, whispering and giggling into his ear. Even though she knew it was all part of that sick joke of his, she was still fuming. She couldn't understand why he got to her so, he was nothing special. He was just a lazy, irritating, immature, sexist, know-it-all who she wanted nothing to do with. Yet she would find herself drawn to him, and when she caught the way the sarcasm in his voice would drop ever so slightly when he spoke to her, or the way his indifferent eyes sparked for a moment when they lingered on her, shivers ran down her spine, exciting her. She longed for the scent of his subtle but musky cologne, for the feel of his strong hands around her slender wrists, or for that aloof smile he would have whenever he stared at her long enough, either way it was enough to fill her stomach with butterflies.

He exhaled, watching the cloud of smoke float above his face before it was swept away by the light breeze. Holding the cigarette with his lips he rested his arms behind his head and continued staring lazily at the sky, attempting to rid his mind of her. Unsuccessfully he lay there, watching the steady stream of smoke escape from the cigarette and the clouds dance before his eyes, taking on shapes that would continuously bring forth some distant memory of her. Little things, that would remind him of the various missions he's done with her, or the various times she had come to Konoha on official business and he had to be her guide. Frustrated he closed his eyes and tried to think of anything else, slowing inhaling and exhaling the cigarette smoke, but her beautiful teal eyes was the only thing on his mind. Those beautiful eyes he saw earlier that day, the ones narrowed in anger as it caught sight of him with Ino pressed against his side. He couldn't help but let a little smirk escape his otherwise indifferent expression, _Yeah, she likes me…_

She smiled to herself as his spiky black hair came into view, his arms tucked neatly under his head as he stared at the passing clouds. Creeping up closer to him she felt a gentle breeze blow by her and stopping she looked down at him, taking in his calm face, watching as a gentle smile spread across his lips. She wanted to lean over and press her lips against his, to feel his warmth envelope her, to get lost in those lazy brown eyes of his. Snapping back to reality she pulled the giant fan from her back and slammed it onto the ground, just barely missing his head.

He smiled as the light scent of lavender and mint caught his senses, wisping around him in the light breeze. In his head he imagined lying there with her in his arms, feeling her warm body against his, intoxicated by her sweet scent as it penetrated every part of him. Suddenly a loud thud broke him from his thoughts and his eyes snapped open, turning toward the sound he saw the end of a very large fan, mere inches from his face.

"What's with the stupid smile crybaby?" She sneered at him, as she remembered the scene from earlier. She stood over him, resting her elbows on the top of her closed fan. For a moment she almost felt herself slip into his eyes as he blankly stared up at her, but she quickly regained her composure smacking his shoulder with her fan.

His eyes shifted from the end of the fan all the way up to those beautiful teal eyes of hers. Her words causing his smile to fade back into his usual look of indifference. He noticed that the sun glimmered off her golden hair, giving her a sort of heavenly feel, and all he wanted to do was pull her down toward him and pin her to the ground. He wanted to feel her warm, soft lips upon his, but he couldn't will his arms to move nor did he want to be catapulted by her fan. He felt the hard metal of her fan slam against his shoulder. "What?" He sat up rubbing his shoulder.

She glared down at him. "What was up with that little show this morning?" She tapped the top of her fan lightly, letting him know a wrong answer might result in a swing of the fan.

He rubbed his neck and looked down, averting her fierce stare and ignoring the light tapping. "I don't know what you're talking about." He took the cigarette from his mouth and examined it.

With a low growl she lifted her fan and smacked the cigarette out of his hand, just barely grazing his fingers. "And what the hell is up with all the smoking!?"

He stared blankly at the place the cigarette once was and sighed. "Che, troublesome woman… what's with all the questions?"

By this time she was fuming. _What the hell do I like about this stupid ass kid anyway!?!?_ She thought about sending him flying with one swing of her fan, but decided against it; instead she turned to walk away cursing herself for going there in the first place.

Something unexplainable came over him and he grabbed the hem of her black kimono. "Don't go… I'll answer your stupid questions." He half expected the impact of her giant fan to send him flying, and he half expected her to pull away and leave, what he didn't expect was for her to just stand there.

She froze in her tracks, his words barely registering in her head. Slowly she turned, gripping her fan tightly as if she was going to launch him with one swing, but something inside her stirred and instead she just stood there stupidly, watching him lie back down still holding onto the hem of her garment. "Fine, let go of me." She saw the hand release and move behind his head as he rested on it, completing his usual pose.

On the surface he was composed, wearing his signature look of indifference, but on the inside he was smiling, a big fat cheese smile. Pleased with himself he stared up at the sky, as he felt her plop down next to him.

Breathing out she sat down next to him. Why was she so nervous? It's not like she's never been around him before, in fact, for the past five years she's was always around him. What makes today any different? Was it because Tenten had called her out on her feelings for him? Or was it because of her own reaction to seeing him with another woman? She plucked a wildflower that was by her feet and started twirling it in her fingers, attempting to stop thinking about the man lying next to her.

He glanced over at her, taking in the outline of her strong yet feminine shoulders, wondering why the conviction to hold her today was stronger, why it just felt so right to reveal to her what he's kept pent up inside him for the past five years. At first he'd deny it to himself, but eventually that got old, and he had to admit that he liked her, that he enjoyed being abused by her, that despite her very violent tendencies, she had a sweet and gentle side to her.

She felt his eyes on her back, for some reason she felt the urge to lie down and snuggle with him, letting every part of him whisk her away. She blushed as she imagined him holding her close, gently caressing her, lazily kissing her neck as he whispered sweet nothings in her ear; she shook those thoughts from her mind, replacing them with that repulsive scene from earlier. Even though she had an inkling of why he would do something like that, she still wanted to hear it in his own words. She threw the flower into his face, her eyes narrowing as she turned to glare at him. "Well…? So what was up with that little show this morning?" The anger and disgust was clearly evident in her voice even though she didn't mean for it to be there.

He picked the flower from off his face and played with it a little, trying hard not to make eye contact with her intense stare. He sighed. "It was nothing... Ino wanted to go for a walk so I accompanied her."

She almost choked when she heard those words. "Bullshit! I swear to GOD, Nara... if you do not tell me the truth in ten seconds I will hit you so hard you won't know what day it is!" She was now seething with anger, it was bad enough that he had played her once already, but now he was blatantly lying to her. Her hand instinctively grabbed her fan, preparing to have it make contact with his face.

He shuddered at her threat and the menacing grip she had on her fan. "Alright... fine. I really just wanted to see if you'd get jealous... and well you did." Sitting up he was brought inches from her face, his indifferent brown eyes staring intently into her narrowed teal ones. He noticed her flinch a little and then turn beet red, her eyes open wide, mouth slightly agape. He couldn't help but notice the sweet smell of lavender and mint as it mesmerized him.

She felt her face flush as he drew close to her, _He wanted to see if I'd get jealous? What the hell!? Does that me he likes me?_ She could smell the rich woodiness of his cologne mixed in with the subtle hint of fruit and espresso. It was almost enough to send her over the edge, she was ready to pounce on him and ravage him in so many different ways, but she caught herself and scoffed. "I was not jealous... I was disgusted. There's a difference."

"Mmmhmmm..." As he stared at her, the corners of his mouth began to curl into that awkward smile of his. His face was so close to hers he could feel the warmth of her breath as she spoke. He shifted pulling his face away from hers, if he had stayed like that any longer he knew he wouldn't be able to contain himself. "So... how was your mission?"

Relieved she felt him shift away, if he had stayed like that any longer she though her heart would explode. "It was okay, the client was irritating as usual, but it was definitely easier than I had anticipated." She relaxed, leaning back she rested on her elbows and stared up into the sky. She watched as the sun slowly sank behing the mountain, painting the sky in magnificent hues of pinks and purples. She's seen many breath taking sunsets in Suna, but the colors mixing in with the clouds was new to her.

"When don't you think the client is irritating?" He glanced over at her briefly, taking in her relaxed pose, before turning his eyes toward brilliant sunset.

"When they're deaf, dumb, and mute..." She turned to face him, her heart quickening its pace as her eyes lingered on his body. "Whatever happened with Tsunade-sama's request that you join the ANBU?"

He shrugged. "It seemed too troublesome, I turned it down."

Her once serene eyes flashed with anger, "YOU WHAT!?" Without thinking she lifted her fan and swung, the fan making a loud thwack as it impacted with the back of his head.

He coughed, his head reeling as if he was just hit by a five ton truck. "What the hell was that, you violent brute!" He leaned forward holding his head in his hand, hoping the spinning and pounding would subside. He could feel a welt forming where the fan had made contact.

She glared at him, her chest heaving with anger. "What the hell did you just call me, you pathetic excuse for a man!" She swung at him again, but this time he dodged her attack.

Instinctively moving to the side he saw her fan flash where he once sat, "God! There you go again!" He stood up and glared at her, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Che, troublesome woman..." He mumbled under his breath as he turned to walk away.

"What the hell did you just say! And where the hell do you think you're going!? I'm not done talking to you, Nara!" She was infuriated, _who the fuck does this kid think he is!? NO ONE talks to me like that and just walks away!_

"Who the hell would stay? You've already swung your stupid fan at me four times, making contact twice, and I'm sure you thought about hitting me at least three other times... I'd be a fucking masochist if I stayed!" He shot an angry look at her and continued to walk away.

"Oh no you don't!" She swung her fan again, this time sweeping his feet so he fell square on his back. In a flash she was on top of him pinning him down. Her face was twisted into a snarl as she growled at him.

The impact of the ground knocked his breath out of him, and before he could get up she was on top of him, arm planted firmly across his chest. He was annoyed, his head was still reeling from the earlier attack, and now his back was hurting too, not to mention the fact that the pressure of her arm was making it hard for him to catch his breath again. _Where the hell does all this strength come from? She's what? A hundred pounds? _He stared fiercely up at her, his normally indifferent eyes raging with annoyance. The sweet scent of lavender and mint infiltrated his senses, confusing his mind as a whirlwind of emotions erupted inside.

She continued to apply pressure to his chest as she straddled him, that musky scent of his cologne pacifying her, calming the storm that raged inside of her. "Now, what did you say about the ANBU position?"

He grimaced. "I told you already, I turned it down..." He tried to keep his eyes locked onto hers as she leaned over him. He did not dare let his eyes wander, her scent was already taking its toll on his body, he did not need anymore stimulation, that and he was in no mood to be hit by that fan of hers again.

She relaxed slightly, "... but... why? And don't say because it's 'too troublesome'... it's an honor to be part of the Hokage's ANBU squad." The anger dissipated from her eyes, replaced with slight disappointment.

He sighed, pushing her off of him he sat up. "Honestly..." his eyes shifted away from her, staring at the ground he pulled up a hand full of grass and let it blow away in the wind. "... if I had taken the position... I wouldn't be available anymore... you know... to be your guide whenever you came to Konoha..." His voice trailed off, blushing he couldn't believe he had just voiced his true feelings. He rubbed the back of his head, feeling the welt the fan left behind.

She sat there dumbfounded, she couldn't believe what he just said. _No... I must have heard wrong, there's no way he would turn down such a position... for me._ For once she was at a loss for words, try as she may she simply could not think of a retort.

They sat there in silence, he was too embarrassed to say anymore, she was too baffled to utter a response.

He stared at the setting sun, the night sky quickly setting in, he stood up and stretched. "Anyway, I have to head home, my mom's going to make ground beef out of me if I'm late for dinner... besides, I promised her I'd take care of the deer before night fell..."

She smirked, "I guess you're fucked on that one..."

He looked down at her and shrugged. "I'll just do it tomorrow... by the way... do you want to come over for dinner? She'll probably forget her wrath when she sees you... I don't understand what she likes so much about you anyway... troublesome women..."

"Che," she jumped to her feet, "I'll just pretend I didn't hear that last part." Picking up her fan she mockingly made a swinging gesture toward him before affixing it to her back.

* * *

He slide open the kitchen door ducking the frying pan that came catapulting toward him. The pan slammed against the door frame barely missing Temari's head. "Gee mom, you almost took off our guest's head... troublesome woman..."

"Shut up Shikamaru, you knew damn well that was supposed to take off your head." The woman turned around wiping her hands on her apron, glaring at her son, her cold stare softening when she caught sight of who was standing behind him.

Temari smiled sweetly and waved, handing the woman the frying pan. "How are you Yoshino-san?"

Yoshino took the pan from Temari's hands and greeted her with a big hug. "I'm good, what are you doing here?"

"I dropped by Konoha to invite some of Gaara's friends to his birthday party, Shikamaru here, oh-so-kindly invited me over for dinner, saying you'd 'forget your wrath when you saw me.'" She flashed him an evil grin as he shrank back in fear eying the frying pan his mother now held in her hand.

"Oh? Is that so?" With a raised eyebrow she stared intently at her son, who mouthed a few inaudible words and slipped out of the room before she could whack him with the frying pan. "Che."

Temari giggled. "So what are you making for dinner? Do you need some help?"

He slipped out of the kitchen and heard Temari giggle. He was glad his plan had worked, otherwise his mother would have chased after him, branishing the frying pan. If Temari hadn't been there with him, surely he would have had a few more welts on the back of his head.

* * *

"Wow Yoshino! That was the best curry beef I've ever had!" The older shinobi sat back in his chair rubbing his stomach. "You have anymore?" he said holding out his empty plate to her.

"Get it yourself you good-for-nothing man!" Yoshino slapped his arm away, glaring at him as he got up to get some more food. "By the way Shikaku, thank Temari-chan for the meal... she made it."

Shikamaru choked and almost fell off of his chair, resulting in a menacing glare from Temari as her hand reached for her fan. He caught himself and coughed. "Who knew such a troublesome woman could cook..." he said in a barely audible whisper which was heard by both Temari and his mother. He coughed again, silently cursing their acute hearing. "I mean... it's very good..."

Yoshino shot her son a cautionary glare before turning her attention to Temari who was sneering at him. "So Temari-chan, how long are you going to be in Konoha for? Where are you staying?"

She drew her attention away from him and slapped her forehead. "Damn it... I knew I forgot to do something today..." She smiled weakly, "Actually I forgot to book a room... but I'm going to be around for a couple of days..."

Shikaku laughed as he returned from the kitchen, "That's okay Temari, after cooking a meal of that caliber, you can stay here as long as you like."

She smiled at him, "Thank you Shikaku-san."

He waved her off, "Naw, don't mention it..." Sitting back down he hungrily wolfed down the food in front of him even though he had just eaten.

Shikamaru groaned, hiding his excitement with a look of slight annoyance.

"Shikamaru! Stop being so rude to Temari-chan." Yoshino kicked her son in the leg from across the table.

Shikaku looked over at his son and chuckled shaking his head. Even if his wife missed it, he had caught the slight gleam of excitement in his son's indifferent eyes. _Oh no, he wasn't being rude, in fact he was just masking his true emotions_, Shikaku couldn't help but smile at how similar his son's personality was to his own.

Temari yawned, not realizing how tired she had been, the food in her stomach was not helping her drowsiness.

"Shika-"

"Yeah, yeah... quit your nagging woman... I got it... " He stood up cutting his mother off and tapped Temari on the shoulder. "C'mon... I'll get you a towel so you could take a shower while I set up the futon."

Yoshino closed her mouth and then opened it again, only to close it again. She didn't know what to say, she couldn't even muster up words to reprimand him for being rude to her. She was too taken aback, this was the first time in seventeen years she had ever seen her lazy son do anything without being told.

Shikaku chuckled again, _this is way too amusing_. Taking a hint from his son he got up and cleared off the empty plates from the table and made his way into the kitchen, leaving his wife flabbergasted as she sat there wondering what in the world just happened.

* * *

Temari lay in the hot water letting it soothe her aching muscles. The mission she had just finished earlier wasn't particularly hard or anything, but sleeping on uneven ground always made her incredibly sore. She was very glad that the Naras had a tub, for there was nothing she enjoyed more than a nice long hot soak. Holding her breath she submerged her head, relishing in the feeling of the hot water flowing around her.

He sat in the hallway staring absently at the door across the hall. He fiddled with his fingers wondering how long she had been in there, he had already finished setting up the futon, and even took a quick shower in the other bathroom, all while waiting for her to finish. Slowly he got up, walked over to the door, and knocked. "You alive in there?"

She pulled her head up from under the water and stared at the door. "Yeah I'm alive, so go away." She stepped out of the tub and dried off before wrapping the towel around her hair. She quickly lotioned her body before pulling on the t-shirt and sweatpants he had given her to wear, slightly disappointed that it didn't smell like him, but thankful that it was at least clean. She stared at herself in the mirror before towel drying her hair.

He stepped aside from the door and continued to wait for her, ignoring her request for him to go away. For some reason his mind wandered off to earlier in the evening when she was straddling him, never mind the fact that she had just finished beating the living shit out of him moments before. Suddenly the door clicked open and there she stood, sloppily dressed in his t-shirt and sweats, hair down and still damp.

She narrowed her eyes at him and scowled, "What? I thought I told you to go away." She couldn't help but notice that his hair was down, her heart was pounding as thoughts raced through her head, but she wouldn't give away her thoughts.

He shrugged. "I know, I just wanted to let you know that you're not sleeping in the spare room tonight. It gets really drafty in there, especially since you'd be on the floor, so you're gonna sleep in my room instead and I'll be sleeping in the spare room."

"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow and look skeptically at him. "When did you decide to be so nice?"

"I'm not being nice. It's just that a man can't stand around and let a wo-"

She hit him with her fan. "Shut up, I don't want to hear your chauvinist take on things."

"God woman! You're so freaking violent!" He rubbed his arm where she hit him, this was what, the fourth time she's hit him with that fan today? Stopping at a door he opened it and gestured for her to go in.

She shot him a dirty look and stepped into the room, noting that this was the first time she had ever been in his room. Dropping her clothes onto a chair and tossing her fan onto the bed she looked around. "You're pretty neat for someone so lazy."

He rolled his eyes, "Shut up and go to sleep, woman." he said in a playfully sarcastic tone. He watched her wander about his room stopping once in a while to look at something, "Oh, and don't touch anything, good night." He turned and closed the door exhaling deeply before walking away. His heart was pounding as thoughts of her sprawled in his bed entered his head. He smiled to himself noting that the sweet smell of lavender and mint still lingered around him.

She stuck her tongue out at him as he closed the door. _Pft, like I'm really not going to touch anything._ Just to spite him she ran her hands along his bookcase, noting that everything was in alphabetical order. She picked up a few of his picture frames to get a better look, all the while fondling various objects he had lying around. She made it a point to touch EVERYTHING in his room and finally made her way over to his desk. Picking up the book that was lying on the top of the pile she flipped through it, causing some of the loose papers inside of it to fall to the floor_. _She picked up the papers and randomly inserted back into the book, but not before noticing that one of them was a picture. Her curiosity peeked and she flipped the picture over surprised to see an image of herself, walking next to him, her head thrown back in laughter_. What the hell_...?

Deftly he jumped onto the roof and assumed his usual position, arms tucked neatly under his head as he stared up at the stars. His mind drifting to her beautiful teal eyes, her hair loose, falling gently around her face, her voluptuous curves hidden behind his loose t-shirt. Suddenly he snapped up, _Shit, I left that book in the room..._

She sat down of the bed and shook all the loose papers out of the book again. This time she picked up each one and looked at it, to her astonishment they were all letters she had written him, along with a few more pictures of them together. Staring down at the papers on her lap she wondered if he had intended for her to find all this.

He lied back down, _Ah, whatever... Doesn't matter now... she's probably already looking through everything..._ Staring up at the twinkling stars he wondered how she would react, he couldn't help but think that perhaps, it was time for him to make his move.

She shoved all the papers back into the book and put it back onto the desk. Grinning to herself she plopped back on his bed and pulled the blankets over her, savoring his scent as she inhaled_. Tomorrow... tomorrow I'll attack him... and he'll like it_.

* * *

**Yay I finished chatper two! \O/ **

**It's a bit longer than I had wanted it but *shrug* who cares... ;D Shika Tema ftw!~ ;D**

**Next up... Neji Tenten! ;D**


	3. Troublesome Morning

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters in anyway... this is strictly a fan fic. **

**So I was supposed to start Neji and Tenten... BUT... seems I wasn't quite finished with Shika Tema yet... ;D Enjoy!~**

**Shika x Tema FTW!~ **

* * *

Ino smiled as the door opened. "Good morning Yoshino-san! Is Shikamaru like awake yet?"

Yoshino smiled at the bubbly blond, "Good morning Ino-chan. No, he's not, but feel free to wake his lazy ass up." She stepped aside letting Ino into the house and closed the door behind her.

"Will do." As she made her way toward his room, she could hear Yoshino yelling at Shikaku to do various chores. Ino giggled and proceeded to pounded on his door. "SHIII-KAAA-MAAA-RUUU!!!" She deliberately emphasized every syllable of his name in the loudest shrillest voice she could conjure up.

He tossed in the futon as Ino's piercing voice reached his ears. From the spare room he could hear her pounding on his door and screaming for him to open up. Groaning he rubbed his eyes and sat up. _What is she doing here anyway? _He groggily got out of the futon and pulled his hair back up into his signature ponytail. Massaging the back of his head, he could still feel the welt left by her giant fan. Yawning he exited the room to see what Ino wanted. Just as he turned the corner, his eyes widened in fear as he caught sight of her opening his door and stomping into the room. _Shit! _

Ino continued to pound on the door, her annoyance rising. "SHIKAMARU!!! I LIKE KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME!!! IF YOU LIKE DON'T OPEN THIS DOOR I'M LIKE GONNA COME IN AND LIKE THROW YOU OUT OF THE BED!" She waited for about thirty seconds before pounding on the door again. "THAT'S IT!!! I'M COMING IN!!!" Angrily she threw open the door and stormed into the room toward the bed.

Temari rolled over, her hand gently brushing the giant fan that was lying next to her. Unconsciously her body instinctively moved, swinging the iron fan at the figure approaching her. A shrill shriek woke her from her sleep and her eyes snapped open. Confused she scanned the room to find Ino crumpled on the floor, a pile of books on top of her and her hand firmly gripping her fan as Shikamaru skidded into the room.

Before Ino could notice that it wasn't Shikamaru lying in the bed, a hard whack sent her flying across the room, resulting in her slamming against the bookcase. She doubled over in pain, slightly losing consciousness as a wealth of books came raining down upon her.

Shikamaru stumbled to a stop grabbing the door frame, just in time to see the mountain of books fall onto Ino. "Damn woman! What the hell is wrong with you!?" He growled at Temari, _Oh God, It's too early for this..._

Temari shot him an evil look, "Like it's my fault she came running at me in my sleep!?" She threw the blankets off of her and shuffled over to Ino's crumpled body, poking her with the fan.

"You're gonna tell me you didn't hear her screaming before she entered!?" He was shouting, he didn't know he could shout. He couldn't contain his emotions, he wasn't particularly mad or anything, especially not at Temari, this was her normal reaction to things, so why was he shouting? Was it because of Ino? But why would Ino's presence upset him so? He looked from Temari to Ino, attempting to find the source of his emotions.

She stared blankly at him, confused at the fact that he was shouting. She's known him for five years and this was the very first time she's ever heard him shout. She couldn't explain the emotions stirring inside of her, she should be angry that he was screaming at her, hell she's always angry, but this time, unexpectedly there was no anger. Perhaps it was jealousy, but she was disappointed, and somewhat depressed at the thought that Ino's crumpled body was the cause of his rage. _Was he was getting all worked up over her? What the hell does this girl mean to him anyway? _She shook her head, attempting to hold back the waves of emotions raging inside of her. "I'm sorry, I really didn't hear anything... living with Gaara and Kankuro..." Her voice trailed, she couldn't form words anymore, the lump in her throat grew, she was agitated by emotions that confused her. Turning she ran out of the room, chocking back a sob she felt the tears stream down her face.

His heart was still pounding, he still couldn't figure out why he was so mad. Where did all this rage come from? Staring at Temari with her hair down, looking disheveled and so vulnerable, he felt his fury subside. For once he couldn't see the fiery passion that was always burning in her eyes, instead all he saw was downcast eyes, full of pain and sorrow, threatening to overflow with tears. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, nor could he believe what he heard when she spoke, her voice was weak and muffled, lacking its usual vigor and life. "Temari!" He called after her as she ran out of the room, his body wouldn't move fast enough to catch her before she darted away.

Ino moaned as she regained her consciousness. With much difficulty she attempted to sit up, her head was spinning uncontrollably and her side was throbbing. "Like what the hell Shikamaru!?" Her voice was pained and slow as she spoke, her side splitting with pain every time she attempted to take a breath.

He stared down at his friend, feeling his anger stirring again as his attention was drawn away from the spot where Temari once stood. The confusion set in again, _Wait, why am I getting angry? What did Ino do? She's the one doubled over in pain... Arg!_ He felt like screaming, for once in his life he had absolutely no idea what was going on. Suppressing his emotions, he put on his look of indifference, and bent down to help her up. "What are you doing here anyway?"

Temari ran into the bathroom and slammed the door. Chest heaving, she grabbed a towel and screamed into it. After letting out a series of muffled screams she felt much better, the tears had stopped and she felt her blood beginning to boil again. _WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ME!? WHY THE HELL AM I CRYING!? _She wiped away the tears that stained her face, and stared at herself in the mirror. She growled at her miserable reflection, angry that she allowed him to dominate her emotions, angry that he held to power to make her cry. She played with her expressions in the mirror before brushing out her hair and putting it up in those four little pigtails. She was not going to let him get to her.

Ino glared at him as she steadied herself with the bookcase, attempting to overcome the pain. "What the hell do you mean 'what are you doing here'!? You like promised to take me shopping today if I like pretended to be your girlfriend yesterday!" She barked at him holding her side, failing at her attempt to straighten up, in fact all that screaming was not helping the pain subside. "And like what the hell hit me anyway?" She murmured, grimacing in pain.

"Shit... I forgot..." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sorry Ino, things are just a little crazy right now..." He yawned and walked over to his bed, plopping down he noticed that the scent of lavender and mint still lingered and he smiled lazily.

"What's with the stupid smile, lazy ass? Your friend is obviously still in pain, what the hell are you doing lying down on your bed!?" Temari leaned on the door post and glared at him, her usual scowl painted beautifully on her face. "This is all your fault..." She turned toward Ino softening her expression, almost showing concern for the girl she had just attacked. "... Which by the way, I'm sorry Ino... I didn't know it was you... here..." She handed Ino an icepack.

Surprised, Ino took the icepack and stared blankly at Temari, her brain attempting to piece together the whole picture. At least for the moment the question of what hit her was answered. Placing the icepack on her side she opened her mouth to respond, only to close it again when no words would form. What she couldn't figure out now was, one, what Temari was doing there, two, why Temari was wearing Shikamaru's clothes, and three, why Temari was in Shikamaru's bed.

He wiped the smile from his face replacing it with his usual lethargic look. He sat up and shrugged. "Right, because I'm the one who catapulted the poor girl across the room with my fan..."

She felt a wave of anger course through her body, she was in no mood for his sarcastic retorts. Opening her fan she unleashed a whirlwind at him, slicing him with the sharp wind, all the while displacing everything inside his room. When the wind died down, she closed the fan and leaned on it, staring at him with a malicious grin. "What was that you just said? I couldn't quite hear you."

Ino shuddered as she caught the tail end of the whirlwind, glad that she was not in Shikamaru's position. _Serves you right Shika..._ Grinning, she leaned back on to the now empty bookcase, the ice numbing the pain in her side. She had expected to go shopping this morning, but this, this was much more amusing.

He could still feel the fierce wind biting at his body even after it had already passed. Looking around he groaned at the state of his room, he could be meticulously neat and needed order, but the lazy side of him told him that this would be far too troublesome to clean up. "Che, troublesome woman..." He got out of the bed and picked up the loose garments of clothing on the floor and threw it at her.

She glared at him, her grin curling down into a scowl as she caught the clothes thrown at her. Her face flushed when she realized that not only did he toss her kimono and obi, but he had picked up her under garments as well. Enraged she swung her fan at him just barely grazing him as he deftly shifted out of the way.

Ino chuckled as they began a very amusing dance, with Temari chasing him around the room, swinging her fan, which would have definitely left behind some major bruises, and Shikamaru agilely moving out of harm's way.

Evading her every swing, he leapt around his room, exerting more energy than he wanted to. Eventually he grew tired of this game, and after making a few quick hand signs her body locked in place. He heard her mutter a few profanities under her breath as he guided her body toward the door.

She snarled at him, grateful that even under his Shadow Bind she could still make facial expressions. "That's not fair, Nara! You and your stupid Shadow Bind..."

He smirked, "Oh? Would you rather I heel over and allow you to beat me to bloody pulp at your every whim?" He saw a sadistic smile spread across her lips and knew the answer was yes. After he had successfully guided her to the other side of the door he released the possession, "Now get dressed so we can head out." Turning to Ino he motioned for her to leave the room also.

* * *

"Like oh my god, Temari! This one will like totally look cute on you too!" Ino rushed up to Temari holding up a very pink and frilly dress.

Temari rolled her eyes, "Ino, you've said that about almost every single thing in the store..." She took the dress from Ino's hands and tossed it onto a display table. _How did I end up getting dragged along for this?_

Shikamaru yawned. "Are we done yet, Ino? We've been here for thirty minutes already, please buy something..." He couldn't believe he had agreed to go shopping with her, the last time he did this he ended up being dragged around for five hours.

Ino glared at him, "I'm like totally trying to find something! And besides, you're like the one who said you'd come if-"

"Yeah, yeah whatever..." he cut her off before she could thoroughly embarrass him. Although he had already told Temari the reasons for his little show yesterday, he didn't need Ino to call him out on it.

Temari looked over at them, disgust and repulsion setting in. She couldn't stand the flirtacious way Ino talked to him, even though she knew it didn't mean anything, but what she hated more was the way he made her feel. It irked her that he could make her want to hit him and kiss him at the same time, or the fact that her heart would begin beating uncontrollably whenever he came too close. She hated the way she would lose her train of thought when his lazy brown eyes lingered on her, she hated the way the sound of his voice could send shivers down her spine, and she especially hated the way his scent would drive her up wall. In order to take her mind off of him she focused her attention to the jewelry in front of her.

Ino giggled, clinging to his arm. "Aww... you're like getting all embarrassed!" She poked at him, "You must like really like her..." Flashing him a big smile, her eyes lit up as thoughts of playing matchmaker filled her mind.

He felt his face flush with color as he attempted to keep his indifferent expression. "C'mon Ino, shut up already..." He shook his head, he's been around Ino long enough to know exactly what her expression meant. "Please don't do anything stupid... she'd rip you apart... and then proceed to beat me into a bloody pulp, claiming it was all my fault..." He glanced over at her, his heart urging him to approach her. _Wow I'm a masochist... _He just stood there stupidly, shoulders slumped, hands in pockets, indifference written all over his face, masking the torrents of emotions racing through his body.

She sighed and picked up a turquoise necklace, the stones reflecting off the beams of light shining into the room. The colors danced beautifully before her eyes, and she turned it over a few times before finally putting it down. She stared at him, taking in his aloof stance, his disinterested eyes, she wanted to attack him, to nail in to the ground, to smother him with sultry kisses, but instead she turned toward the door.

"Hey Temari! Where are you like going?" Ino came bouncing up next to Temari linking arms with her, her big blazing smile still plastered on her face.

Shikamaru watched as she flinched, her arm instinctively reaching for her fan before quickly retracting. He shook his head in disappointment, knowing that if it had been him, that fan would most definitely have made contact with his face.

She glared at Ino, "Away. This is irritating, besides, I never signed up for this." Shaking Ino off of her she proceeded to exit the store.

Shikamaru chuckled to himself as he too advanced toward the door.

"Oh, I like don't think so!" Ino grabbed his shirt pulling him back. "Unlike her, you like totally signed up for this."

Temari stepped out of the store, smiling as the brisk January breeze cooled her blazing nerves. She couldn't take anymore, another five minutes in there and she would have either ringed Ino's neck or sexually assaulted Shikamaru. She needed to take out her frustrations on something, or rather someone, anyone would do at this point. All she needed was a willing volunteer to lash out on.

Shikamaru groaned as he watched Temari's figure disappear from sight. He had wanted to spend all day with her, perhaps that was why he was so livid this morning, thinking back on it, it is the only feasible explanation he could come up with. Shaking Ino off of him he walked over to the jewelry counter and picked up the necklace Temari was just admiring.

Ino looked over his shoulder and grinned. " So you gonna like buy that for her? It like totally does match her eyes beautifully."

* * *

She continued to wander about the village, occasionally scanning the streets for anyone she knew. She wondered what Tenten was up to, perhaps she could ask her to train with her, but she didn't know where to being looking for her. Lost in her thoughts she didn't notice the giant dog running straight toward her.

"Hey Akamaru watch where you're go-" Before he could finish his yelling out his warning the giant dog had already pounced on Temari, knocking her off her feet, barking excitedly and licking her face.

She flew to the floor, pinned down by furry paws as wet slobber made contact with her face. "Ugh..." She pulled her arms up and wiped the slobber from her face. "Kiba, get your stupid dog off of me."

The young man laughed as he patted the dog on the head. "Come on Akamaru... get off of her already!" He smiled jumping off the back of the dog and landed in front of her. "Hey Temari-chan! Seems like he was really excited to see you... and I can see why..."

She growled at him, first off NO ONE, outside of Yoshino, is ever allowed to call her a _chan_, and secondly no one makes lecherous comments toward her and gets away with it. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME!?" In a flash she had her fan drawn and he was sent flying into the building behind them.

Akamaru yelped at his master, running after him as he slammed into the concrete, leaving behind a gaping hole. Kiba rubbed his head groaning, looking up he saw Temari seething with anger, taking up a fighting stance. He smiled weakly at her, and scratched his head. "C'mon Temari... I was just kidding..."

Glaring at him she put her fan away, and smirked. "Kiba, I'm bored. Come play with me in the training field, I need someone to unleash on."

He stared blankly at her, and then turned to look at Akamaru. "Um... when you say play... you mean..."

"I mean spar, no weapons, which means I will not be using my fan, and you will not be using Akamaru. Just me, you, a couple of fists, and a field." She crossed her arms waiting for him to answer. She wanted to release her frustration on someone, so why not on him. "Oh, and I have to invite you to Gaara's birthday party... it's next week, in Suna, you coming?"

He smiled at her, readily accepting the challenge. "Sure, to both."

* * *

She grimaced as his foot made contact with her stomach, sending her flying. With a sickening thud she slammed onto the floor, skidding another ten feet before coming to a stop. Recovering quickly she caught him in a guard position as he came flying toward her.

He was panting, she was tougher that he gave her credit for. He didn't expect her to be an easy opponent, but he figured the odds were in his favor, besides he was more agile and stronger. He rushed toward her, but was instantly caught by her. _Damn it!_

She finally had the offensive position, she was tired and wanted this to be over already. She hadn't expected to be fighting him for so long, almost an hour had passed already and neither one of them were going to admit defeat. Skillfully she shifted her position, placing him in a well executed arm-bar.

He felt the pressure on his arm, struggling he couldn't break free from her hold. _Damn it! How is this hundred pound woman kicking my ass!?_Suddenly he felt her grip loosen, without giving her time to react he pulled out of the arm-bar and maneuvered under her.

She felt her right arm weaken, it was the arm he had dislocated earlier, she was annoyed, the fight would have ended right there if it wasn't for her arm. Before she knew it, he had shifted under her and with a swift kick she was sent sailing into the air again. This time, she managed to change her position in the air and landed gracefully on all fours.

Akamaru barked as a new presence entered the training grounds. Temari and Kiba both stopped what they were about to do and turned toward the pink haired newcomer, grateful for a break.

"Yo, Sakura! What's up?" Kiba waved at her, still panting.

She smiled back at him and gave him a quick wave before turning her attention to Temari. "Hey Temari, Tsunade-sama wanted me to inform you that Neji has returned. He's being debriefed right now."

Temari straightened up and wiped the dirt from her face. "Oh? Good. By the way Sakura, would you like to come to Gaara's birthday party next week?"

Sakura nodded, "Tsunade-sama already told me about it, I'd me more than happy to come... but what should I buy him?"

She shrugged, "I don't know... everyone keeps asking me that... get him whatever... he'll appreciate it either way." She walked over to Akamaru and picked up her fan. "Hey Kiba, let's call this a truce." She was satisfied, he made a pretty good punching bag, besides her arm was still sore.

Kiba breathed a sigh of relief, he was tired, and bruised all over, but he most certainly did not want to admit defeat. "You're an impressive opponent, and that's without the fan..." Akamaru yelped in agreement.

"You're not to shabby yourself." She flashed him a smug grin, "Maybe we'll play again sometime." Without waiting for a respone she took off toward the direction of the Hokage's office.

* * *

***Breathes out* **

**I finally finished chapter three.... I was trying to figure out where to end it... hope it's not too crappy... hahaha... I did change one thing however, I edited chapter one so that Sakura is no longer on the list of people not in Konoha. ;D**

**anyway... I promises next chapter will deal with Neji and Tenten... anyway... hope you've enjoyed thus far!~**


	4. Drunken Night

**Sorry this chapter took so long... ;D I knew how I wanted to start and end... it was the middle part that was killing me... so I moved on to my other story until I thought of something... but yay it's done now!~ ;D Hopefully you like it...!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto... blah blah blah... owned by the awesome Masashi Kishimoto... blah blah blah... you know the deal**

* * *

Tenten lingered at the door, nervous excitement racing through her veins. There was only one feasible reason she could think of for being called to the Hokage's office. She knew it wasn't for a mission, Temari had already told her there would be no missions for them until after Gaara's party, so the only other thing left was the ANBU position. She held her breath as the door clicked open.

The long haired ANBU stepped out of the office, his porcelain mask lifted up revealing his face. He looked over at Tenten and gave her an acknowledgement nod, he didn't have to say anything to know exactly why she was there. He was glad to see her though, it's been a while since they all hung out together, he would never admit it to anyone but he sort of missed his old team, even his overly animated sensei.

She waved at him, "Hey, Neji, wait for me, kay?" She smiled to herself, seeing him eased her mind, the nervousness dissipated and she felt like her usual self again.

He nodded, "Sure." Keeping a solemn face he smiled on the inside, if she gets the position he would be able to work with her again, and strangely, that made him happy.

"Hey who knows, maybe I'll be on your team again." She flashed him a big smile, it has been quite a couple of years since they were last in a team together, and she was slightly giddy at the thought of it. Confidently she pushed open the door and stepped into the office.

Tsunade looked up at the sound of the heavy door slamming shut. "Hey Tenten, I'm sure you already know why you're here." She stared at the young Kunoichi, pleased to see a look of conviction and determination plastered on the young woman's face.

Tenten nodded, smiling confidently.

"That's good. I can make this short. You have until you return from the Kazekage's birthday party to give my your answer on whether or not you would accept the ANBU position." Tsunade rubbed her temples, her head still hurt, and that door has been slamming incessantly all day. Hoards of people coming in and out, requesting her assistance in one thing or another, mission reports, mission assignments, she just wished the day would be over, so she can settle down with a nice warm bottle of sake. "That is-"

"I'll take it!" The volume and speed of her words surprised even Tenten a little, but she had been waiting all her life for this opportunity; she didn't need a week to think it over, this was something she knew she wanted and that conviction was evident in her voice.

Tsunade stared intently at the girl, "Are you sure you don't need time to think this over?"

Tenten shook her head. "No, ma'am. I've been waiting a long time for this position, I am more than sure that I want it."

Tsunade smiled, she liked the drive the girl had, it was refreshing. "Very well, before you leave for Suna, have Neji bring you to get branded and collect your uniform. Once your little vacation is over you'll be receiving your first mission. That is all."

Brimming with excitement Tenten bowed before the Hokage and quickly exited the room. Looking over at her former teammate she squealed enthusiastically and threw her arms around his neck, forgetting that he hated hugs. "I made it Neji!"

He scoffed, but didn't move to pull her off of him, he'd let her have her moment. Besides, he'd be lying if he said he didn't enjoy the feeling of her warm body pressed up against his, but of course he told himself he didn't enjoy it.

* * *

Temari made her way toward the Hokage's office, hoping that Neji was still around. Debriefings really don't take that long, and it had taken her longer than she had wanted to get there. She still had four people to invite after Neji, so she was not in the mood to search all of Konoha for him, being that she wanted to get back to Suna as soon as possible. She didn't really trust Kankuro to set up the preparations properly, he'd probably gaff it off until the last minute due to having "better things to do," but more importantly she had to get as far away from Shikamaru as possible. It's not that she hated him or anything, it's just that she really couldn't stand it anymore, the way she was around him, the way he was able to play with her emotions, the way fact that she was unable to suppress her desires the way she used to. If she had to stay around him any longer she was convinced that sooner or later she would snap and probably rape him.

Turning the corner, Tenten slammed right into Temari. "Oi... Hey! Temari!" Tenten threw herself onto her friend, wrapping her in a wild hug. "I got it Tema! I got it!"

"Oh? Got what?" Temari steadied herself with the wall, she didn't need to be knocked onto the ground again by her apparently hyper-active friend.

"ANBU, she made ANBU." Neji said as he gave her a slight flick of the wrist, which could be interpreted as a wave.

Temari's eyes lit up as the words registered in her brain, inadvertently she let out a squeal and returned her friend's hug. "... This is...! We totally have to celebrate!"

Tenten nodded her head furiously at the suggestion. "Yes! Celebrate with immense amounts of food and drinks! But first... we need to go shopping!"

Neji raised an eyebrow and stared at Tenten, "Shopping? What does that have to with anything?" _Oh hell no... I'm not getting dragged into that... _He looked questioningly at the two girls and tried to inconspicuously shifted away from them, attempting to escape before he was dragged into a never ending shopping spree.

"C'mon Neji, you're coming too! Besides, it's for Gaara's birthday present." Tenten released Temari and grabbed his arm, dragging him back toward them.

"... Gaara's birthday present...?" He stared at her questioningly, wondering when the two of had gotten that close, he would have expected Rock Lee to sporadically decide to buy Gaara a birthday present, but Tenten? _Wait... why do I care so much?_

Tenten nodded, "MmmHmm. It's next week... but, hey, I promise it'll be quick... one store... I know how much you hate shopping."

Temari chuckled to herself as she caught his expression, if she wasn't mistaken she would have to say he was jealous of Gaara, which would mean she was right, he liked Tenten. _Perhaps I should let him know... nah... let him think what he wants... I'll invite him after I've had my fun._

He inadvertently glared at Tenten and shrugged, reluctantly conceding to her request. He wanted to ask her what her relationship with Gaara was, why she remembered Gaara's birthday, why she had forgotten his, but at the same time he knew he didn't want to know the answers. If she somehow had gotten close to Gaara, he didn't want to know, not that he was jealous because it's not like he _liked _her or was bitter that she hadn't gotten him anything on his last birthday.

Tenten eyes him questionably as his expression changed, she could almost see the swarm of questions racing through his mind when it finally dawned on her. She slapped herself on the forehead and smiled sheepishly at him. "Oh, right. You just got back, ha, you probably think I've gone bonkers..."

Temari playfully shoved her friend for ruining her fun so quickly. "You're no fun..." She would have enjoyed watching him drive himself crazy for a little bit longer, but since Tenten gave away the game she might as well explain.

Tenten giggled softly and returned Temari's shove. "You're just plain mean."

"Maybe." Temari turned toward Neji, "Oi, Neji! Wanna come to Gaara's birthday party next week?"

A wave of relief passed through his body, _so there's nothing going on between them... good grief, get a grip man! _He shrugged again, "Sure."

Temari chuckled, "Great! Four left..." Linking her arm with Tenten's she made her way toward the exit. "Let's hurry this up so we can start celebrating!"

Neji shook his head as he followed after them, knowing that all they wanted to do was get drunk.

* * *

Shikamaru shoved his hands deeper into his pockets. He was glad he had finally broken loose from Ino's tyrannical grip, but now he really didn't have anything to do. Aimlessly he wandered Konoha's market district, deftly evading the massive crowds, eyes locked on the clouds up above. He couldn't help but wonder what she was doing now, he had wanted to spend the day with her, walking with her, talking with her, evading her fan, playing a game or two of shoji, but she had disappeared much earlier, and he was not going to seek her out.

"So what are you going to get Gaara?" Tenten had dragged her friends over to Konoha's market district, although it was nearing five in the afternoon the crowds were still thick with people.

Temari shot her friend a huge smile, "Booze."

Neji looked at them and shook his head again. _Freaking alcoholics..._

"Booze?" Tenten asked a little too enthusiastically as she pulled the two of them along. She wanted to get to the weapon's store before they closed for the night, if she couldn't find something she would have to have something made, and that might take a few days.

Temari nodded. "Yup, booze. He's turning eighteen, what better way to usher in his cross over to manhood than with booze! Besides, it's what Kankuro got when he turn eighteen, so why deny Gaara?" Temari caught the sight of his pointy ponytail just slightly up ahead, and her heart skipped a beat in her chest. _What the hell is wrong with me?_ Pushing her emotions aside, she narrowed her eyes and glared at the back of his head.

"Hey Tema, what's wrong? You have that look again..." Tenten stared intently at her friend's expression, then scanned the crowd in an attempt to pick out the cause of Temari's sudden mood change.

"Huh? Oh, sorry... I was... I just thought of something... it's nothing." Temari shook him from her mind, she didn't need this now, why did she get so worked up anyway, it's not like she _liked_ him or anything. She suppressed the little voice screaming "liar" inside her head.

Tenten sighed and gave her a knowing look, but didn't want to push the subject any further. She chuckled to herself finding it amusing how her friend always got all flustered because of that boy. Stopping she pushed open the door to the dark little store and gestured for her friends to enter.

The little bell chimed and the man looked up from his spot behind the counter. Temari scoffed as she stepped into the store, it's not that she didn't like weapons, or that she thought her brother wouldn't appreciate weapons, it's just she couldn't really picture him using any of them. He liked to use sand, lots and lots of sand, in fact, she can't recall a time he had ever used weapons, but this was Tenten's specialty, if anyone could find Gaara a weapon he would actually use, it would be her.

Tenten ran her fingers along the edges of various weapons she did not yet own, but now was not the time to be shopping for herself. She suppress the temptation to play with all the new artillery the store had acquired since she was here last, today she had to find something that just screams Gaara. She figured since he was a very calm and quiet individual she knew it had to be something small, yes, small and incredibly deadly, but not a kunai or shuriken, no that was too plain, it needed to be something special, something worthy of a Kazekage.

Leaning back against the wall, Neji crossed his arms and smiled. He watched her as she made her way around the store, her eyes lighting up occasionally as she ran her hand over a weapon she did not yet own. He had missed her more than he would care to admit, he missed seeing her every day, training with her for hours on end, seeing her face light up every time she smiled. If someone were to ask him what he thought about her, he'd lie and say she was just a good friend, a former teammate, but deep inside he wanted more. He had struggled with his feelings toward her for many years now, suppressing them, telling himself he was being foolish, that he didn't have time for a relationship, but recently he'd found himself thinking about her more and more; about how it would feel to have her in his life, to fall asleep with her in his arms and wake up to her smiling face.

Temari picked up a large battle ax and spun it in her hands, enjoying the weight of it in her hands, wondering how it would feel to crush someone's skull with it. Not that she couldn't deal deadly blows with her over-sized iron fan, but an ax, oh there would most definitely be blood involved, and most likely brains spewing out too. She smirked maliciously as long platinum blond hair made its way into the image, giving the ambiguous _someone _an identity.

"Um... Tema... please put down the ax... you're smiling sadistically... it's creepy." Tenten placed her hand gently on Temari's shoulder and yanked the ax out of her hands. As she placed it onto the counter a small box caught her eye, she quickly waved the owner over and gestured toward the box.

"Oh? Good eye, but that's to be expected from you, Tenten." The older man smiled as he lifted the box out from the glass counter. He unlatched it and lifted the cover, spinning the box around so she could see its contents.

Her eyes grew wide as she stared down into a box of eight beautifully crafted chakra throwing knives. Gently she lifted each one, examining its exquisite details; each knife was uniquely different, splendidly representing each one of the major deities: Amaterasu, Hachiman, Inari, Izanagi, Izanami, Kagutsuchi, Susano-ô, and Tsuki-yomi *. Holding onto Hachiman's knife she let the chakra flow through her hands into the knife, igniting it in a flush of white light. The intricate details of the knife flickered as Tenten's chakra pumped into it, the knife itself almost seemed alive, she smiled widely before retracting her chakra and placing the knife back into the box so it can take its place amongst the others. She quickly snapped the case shut, "I want them, they're perfect."

Temari smiled as she saw the knives Tenten picked up, if Gaara were ever to use weapons, those most definitely would be it. She had never seen knives so beautifully made, if she didn't like her weapons big and deadly she was sure she'd like those. She could see Gaara's chakra pumping into those knives, illuminating them, animating them, enveloping them with sand, oh she could definitely see Gaara killing with them.

Neji held the door open for the two girls as they made their way out of the store, the box safely tucked away under Tenten's arm. His eyes lingered on her as she passed, soaking up everything about her; like how her smile would light up her beautiful face, how the two little dimples would form just slightly past the corners of her mouth, how her incredibly mesmerizing deep brown eyes sparkled in the sun, how her small delicate frame would shake with her laughter, and oh how her hips would sway so sensually when she walked. He took a long, deep breath to calm himself, _Good God, where did all these thoughts of Tenten come from!?_

"So, what do you want to eat? I'm starving, but this is your celebration, so you get to choose!" Temari felt her stomach grumble, it had been way too long since she last ate, and that fight with Kiba had drained most of her energy, she was surprised she was still standing.

Without hesitation Tenten yelled "Sushi!"

* * *

Shikamaru yawned as he approached the gate, he had somehow wandered all the way home. Glancing at his watch he noted that it was about five-thirty, almost time for dinner.

"Yo, boy, what are you doing staring at the gate. It's not going to open on it's own."

He turned toward his father and scoffed, "Che..."

Shikaku chuckled as he brushed past his son, kicking the gate open. "C'mon, grab a bag and help out your old man."

Grumbling Shikamaru grabbed one of the bags of groceries his father had expertly balanced in his arms, almost dropping it due to its weight. "What the hell did you buy?"

"Che, you know your troublesome mother..." Shikaku continued to the front door, kicking that open too, he held it with his foot to let his son pass through.

"SHIKAKU!! STOP KICKING OPEN THE DOOR!! YOU HAVE HANDS USE THEM!!"

Shikaku sighed letting the door close on its own as Yoshino's voice rang throughout the house. "Yeah, yeah, quit your nagging, woman." Walking into the kitchen he dropped the bags onto the counter and caught the frying pan that came flying at him. Placing the frying pan back onto the stove, he wrapped his arms around her waist. "You're too predictable, woman... always with the damn frying pan..."

She shuddered as he cooed in her ear, her body melting into his arms. Even after all these years, his touch still excited her, his voice still sent shivers down her spine, his presence still made her swoon. She quickly composed herself and turned to face him. Gently she traced the small scar above his left eye and smirked. "Che, oh I'll get you again... you can bet on it."

Shikamaru shook his head and shuffled out of the kitchen, last thing he needed was to witness his parents making out again. He had accidentally walked in on them once, and he never wished to ever see that again. Opening the door to his room he groaned; books, papers, clothes, everything was everywhere, all thanks to Temari. He picked up a few books and set them to the side, _this is going to be troublesome._

* * *

"...Hey waitress! One more bottle of sake please!" Temari waved the empty bottle in the air giving the waitress a visual of what she wanted.

"Do you guys really need another bottle?" Neji grabbed the bottle from Temari and gently put it back down.

Tenten giggled, "Aw, c'mon Neji... we've only had three so far..." The piece of salmon slipped from her chopsticks and splashed into the little plate of soy sauce. She struggled with picking it up a few more times before tossing the chopsticks aside and assaulting the sashimi with her fingers.

Neji shook his head at her. "You guys are done, you can't even use chopsticks anymore!"

Temari threw her head back in laughter as Tenten flicked the soy sauce on fingers at Neji. "Should I ask for a fork too, lightweight?"

"Who are you calling a lightweight!?" Tenten turned to glare at her friend and threw a piece of tuna sashimi at her.

Catching the piece of tuna Temari smirked slyly and dipped it in the soy sauce before launching it back at her, laughing uncontrollably as the fish slapped Tenten in the face leaving behind a trail of soy sauce. "You can't even dodge fish! Proof that you're a lightweight and that I can drink you under the table any day!"

"Oh god... they've resorted to throwing fish..." Neji mumbled to himself as he waved the waitress over. "Please don't bring them any more sake... and can we get the check, please?"

The waitress looked over at the two giggling girls and nodded, quickly scurrying off to grab the check before the girls made a through mess of the place.

"That wasn't even fair! I wasn't paying attention!" Tenten reached for another piece of sashimi when Neji grabbed her arm. She instantly froze under the touch of his warm, rough hands, blushing furiously as he pulled her back into her chair.

"C'mon... that's enough." Reaching up, he turned her face toward him and wiped the soy sauce from her cheek with his napkin. "I'm getting you guys out of here."

"Che, you're no fun." Temari downed the last bit of the sake left in the little cup and slammed it down onto the table. "I want more sake... yo, Tenten... let's ditch Neji and hit up a bar."

"B-but... I don't wanna ditch Neji... can't he come? You'll see... he can be fun... we just need to get him some more sake..." Tenten frantically serached every cup on the table in hopes of finding some left over sake, she didn't want to leave Neji behind. She was enjoying his company, and perhaps, with the help of the alcohol she'll finally let him know how she felt.

"Calm down, Tenten. I'm not going anywhere... I can't let you guys go to a bar alone, God knows what kind of trouble you two will get into." He saw the blood rush to her face again as she smiled sweetly at him and sank back into the chair.

"Hey, hey... I don't ever get into trouble!" Temari stuck her tongue out at him and made a face. "Maybe she can't hold her alcohol, but me? I can hold my own!"

He grabbed the check from the waitress and threw down enough money to cover the bill. "Sure whatever, let's just get out of here."

* * *

Neji groaned as Temari pulled Tenten onto the bar with her, _"I don't ever get into trouble" my ass..._Still, he was quite surprised that the she was so in control of her movements, although Tenten was visibly drunk. On top of the three bottles of sake the girls had at the restaurant, they had drunk two more bottles here at the bar, on top of the four rounds of shots they took with a different group of ninjas, and a couple of bottles of beer bought for them by various guys trying to pick them up. Neji was impressed by the way Temari handled her liquor, but he was definitely concerned for Tenten.

Tenten took Temari's hand and somehow managed to climb onto the bar. The alcohol was swimming wonderfully in her head, making her feel all warm and fuzzy inside. The music was pumping and she felt Temari's body move against hers, pulling her into the dance. She wasn't quite sure what she was doing anymore and the room was a pleasant blur of moving objects.

Temari loved it, the drinking, the music, the dancing, the attention. She pulled Tenten into her dance, expertly balancing herself on the narrow surface of the bar top, making sure she held Tenten up. Lost in the beat of the song, she vaguely heard the cat-calls and whistles from the crowd.

"Come on, you guys have to get down from up there!" The bartender looked nervously up at the two girls dancing, he didn't want to be liable if they fell. "You guys aren't allowed to be up there!"

Temari scowled and shot the bartender an evil look. Reluctantly she mouthed the word fine and hopped off the bar, stumbling a bit on the landing. Steadying herself she felt the effects of the alcohol as her body slowly refused to obey her commands. _Yee Gods you've done it this time Mari..._

Tenten stumbled on the bar, looking down nervously as she attempted to figure out how she was going to make it down without cracking open her skull.

Neji watched them, Temari had jumped down without a problem, a slight stumble, but she caught herself. Tenten on the other hand just dangerously swayed, looking very confused on how she would get down. Reaching up he grabbed her hand, "Come on, I'll get you down."

She felt the warmth of his hand envelope hers, her heart fluttered and she placed her other hand on his head as she steadied herself. "Neji..."

Somehow Temari managed to make her head stop spinning, and suppressed the urge to regurgitate, the sudden movement of jumping down really jolted her system. Staring at her two friends, a smirk slowly spread across her lips as Neji lifted Tenten off the bar. _Yea... he so wants her..._

She wrapped her arms around his neck as he lifted her from the bar, his strong hands holding onto her small waist. She felt lightheaded, which was probably due to to the immense amount of alcohol she had ingested, but she was quite convinced it was more due to the fact that he was holding her. "Oi... Neji... you know I like you..."

He felt her arms come down around his neck, pulling him closer to her as he lifted her off the bar. He could smell the alcohol on her breath as she whispered in his ear, her hot breath on his skin sending chills down his spine. Setting her feet onto the ground he held her steady with one arm while waving Temari over.

"Yo..." Temari stumbled over to where they stood, steadying herself with the bar. She chuckled as she noted that Tenten was barely able to stand on her own. "She's so gone... girl shoulda never tried to keep up with me..."

Neji nodded, "...who knew you could drink so much."

Tenten perked up for a moment, registering that they were talking about her. "...I'm... so... not that... drunk... oi... Neji... you look so hot right now..."

Neji felt the blood rushing to his cheeks as he blushed deeply and coughed. "Heh... Ummm... I should probably get her home. Do you think you can make it back by yourself?"

"Totally... you go and take care of her..." Temari winked at him smiling mischievously, before turning to find the door.

* * *

Her black kimono was throughly soaked by the time she found the house she was looking for. She had been stumbling through the town, attempting to find a familiar street so she could get back to his house, when the rain had started. Shivering she unlatched the gate and made her way toward the door, glad that after thirty minutes and a heavy downpour she had finally found the house.

He stared up at the ceiling, slowly counting the tiles as he listened to the rain falling outside. He had been lying in bed for almost an hour now, trying to fall asleep, but it was all in vain. He couldn't push her out of his mind, all he could do was lie there and wonder where she was, what she was doing, what she was thinking, normally it would have been alright, normally he would have just let her sit in his head and he would close his eyes and most likely dream about her. It was so strange to him, why he couldn't fall asleep, why he just lied there, fighting with himself. He was the kind of person who could just about take a nap anywhere, sleep in any situation, and here he was, lying warm and snug in his bed, completely awake and unable to fall asleep.

She crashed through the door, silently cursing herself for her lack of grace. Quietly she closed the door again and steadied herself with the wall. _Just breathe... you can do this... just a few more steps and then a bed... and your head can stop spinning._ Using the wall to prop herself up, she slowly staggered toward his room.

Hearing someone fumble with his door he sat up to see Temari swing his door open and stumble in. Blinking a few times he rubbed his eyes to make sure he was actually awake.

Finally she managed to get the troublesome door open and toppled into the room. She yawned as she tossed her fan onto the bed and begun pealing the wet layers of clothing off of her body.

He caught the fan that came flying onto the bed and just stared frozen with his mouth slightly agape as she started taking off her clothes. He wanted to move, to advert his gaze, to get out of the room as fast as possible, but he knew that movement at this point would most definitely catch her attention and that would be bad, very very bad.

Throwing back the sheets she crawled into the bed, reveling in the warmth of the sheets against her body. She smiled as his scent surrounded her, wisking her away to a far away place.

He flinched as her cold, naked body slid into his bed. He had always dreamed of having her snuggling against him, holding her as he slept, but this was too much, oh how she would kill him in the morning. He kept telling himself to get out of the bed, to run away, but his body betrayed his mind as he lied back down, taking her cold shivering form into his arms.

She shifted as a pleasant warmth folded around her, melting away the icy rain from her skin. Wrapping her arms around the warm pillow she pulled it closer as she intertwined her body around it, burying her face in the soft fabric, soaking in the heat that emanated from it.

The wonderous scent of lavender and mint was subdued by the overwhelming smell of alcohol that lingered on her body. He groaned, if he had thought that sleep was escaping him earlier, he knew that there was no way in hell he'd be able to sleep now. He felt her shift her body onto his, she had somehow managed to tangle limbs with his, he sighed and wrapped his arm tighter around her. _This is going to be a long night..._

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**Yay!~ Chapter 4 is done!~ Please review my pretties... ;D I'm glad you guys are faving this story and adding it to your alerts... but reviews are fun too!~ ;D Let me know what you liked and what you don't like... ;D **


	5. Hangovers and Sweet Dreams

**Your eyes do not deceive you. It's really an update!~ This is for all of you who messaged me both here and on OMF to write the next chapter. I truly apologize for the long wait, and promise I won't make you wait this long again if you review. :P But to be honest, I was highly lacking inspiration/drive, but thanks to the new Naruto game I'm all fired up and ready to go! Haha. I hope you enjoy this!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Shikamaru or Temari, that privilege belongs to Kishi.**

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Temari slowly opened her eyes and yawned, her head felt heavy, her mouth parched, and every ounce of her body ached. She felt so warm and cozy lying in that bed that she didn't want to move, but her body cried out for nourishment and the pounding in her head denied her of any further comfort. Groaning she tossed back the blankets and was instantly struck by the cold January morning air. Hastily she grabbed for the blankets stopping abruptly as her hands fell upon something warm and soft, and most definitely not her fan.

It didn't take long for her to register the fact that she was half naked and lying in the bed next to her was none other than Shikamaru himself. For a brief moment she was overwhelmed by a sense of pure bliss. It was as if everything she had secretly hoped and longed for during the past few days had finally come to fruition and the war she had waged within herself for so long was finally over. Yet that blissful feeling was fleeting, as a sense of regret, dread and confusion slowly crept in.

Sinking back into the alluring warmth of bed she attempted to recall the events of the night before, the events the lead to this, waking up next to her deepest and darkest desires. Try as she might she could not conjure up a clear picture of anything beyond being scolded by the bartender and begrudgingly getting off the bar, and for her sanity she needed to remember what happened, she needed to remember what was said, she needed to remember what was done. Did he willingly comply? Did she impose herself upon him? Did he like it? Did she like it? Her mind fought her heart as she told herself it was a mistake, as she blamed him for her present predicament, as the anger flared up within her like white flames. She loved him and hated him at that moment, she desired yet despised him. Frustrated with her insatiable desire for him and her inability to contain herself around him, she forced her body to leave the comfort of his side and sought her discarded clothes as the incessant pounding in her head amplified.

The dampness of her kimono instantly brought back pieces of the night before. In a flash she remembered leaving the bar, getting lost and getting soaked in the relentless rain. The wet kimono sent a chill through her body as she pulled it on, shivering she glanced at the inviting space on the warm comfortable bed next to his sleeping form. Fighting the urge to peel her clothes off again and rush back into his arms she busied herself with fixing her unruly hair, all the while berating herself for compromising her dignity.

Fighting a losing battle she found herself slowly approaching the bed, desperately attempting to recall those elusive memories. As she lifted the covers, revealing his fully clothed sleeping form, a wave of relief and disappointment washed over her. "So nothing happened?" She whispered to herself, feeling slightly dejected. Scowling, she ran through all the possible scenarios to explain this awkward outcome when it hit her. In her drunken stupor she must have stumbled into his room, thinking that the sleeping arrangements established the night before still stood, despite her absence, and idiotically disrobed, casting her wet clothes aside before crawling into bed, neglecting to realize the simple fact that he was already there.

"Baka" she mumbled to herself, mentally slapping herself on the forehead as she dropped the blanket and rubbed her temples. This realization did not help the torturous pounding in her head, and despite the fact that she was the one who invaded his space, she couldn't help but blame him for what happened. Angrily she wonder if he was awake when she crawled into bed with him, if he made the conscious effect to stay in efforts to mock her, if he was simply too lazy to get up and leave, or if he was just truly unaware of her presence. She was aggravated, and her hangover was worsening with every passing moment.

_I need to get out of here_. She didn't have the strength to face him at the moment, her heart was beating too fast, her mouth was too dry, her head was too heavy. Hastily she searched the room for her fan, groaning as she spotted it on the far end of the bed, tucked between Shikamaru and the wall, taunting her as it laid securely under his arm. Exasperated from her hangover and her unsettling realization, she turned from the bed, conceding to leaving her fan behind lest she wake him wrestling it free from under him, and slipped out of the room defeated.

"Good morning Temari-chan, what are you doing up so early?" A surprised Yoshino asked as she rounded the corner, catching Temari softly close the door to Shikamaru's bedroom.

Startled Temari let out a slight gasp before quickly regaining her composure. "Good moring Yoshino-san." She replied quickly, avoiding his mother's questioning gaze. "I was having trouble sleeping so I decided to get some fresh air and take a stroll around town."

"Oh?" Yoshino mused, unconvinced. "But I can't imagine anything being open at this hour."

Catching onto Yoshino's not too subtle suspicion Temari felt the blood rush to her face. "If I remember correctly I believe the little teashop by the Suna embassy should be opened by now." She said hiding her uneasiness. "I used to go there whenever I stayed here for the chunin exams, and I've grown quite fond of the place."

Yoshino chuckled to herself softly as she caught Temari's slight blush. As amusing as it was, Yoshino decided to not torture the girl any longer, and although she had a slight inkling of why the sand shinobi was emerging from her son's bedroom at half past five in the morning, she decided it was better to just go with the girl's explanation and berate her son later. "Well in that case, I won't keep you."

Smiling, Yoshino gave the girl a pat on the shoulder, stopping abruptly as the cold, wet material of the young woman's kimono permeated her skin. "My dear, your clothes are all wet!" Yoshino exclaimed. "If you got out like that you'll definitely catch a cold!"

Temari groaned. She knew Yoshino was right, in her haste to escape she hadn't considered that her damp clothing would only heighten the cold January air, but she didn't have much else on her, for she didn't anticipate an extended stay, or a drenching downpour. "I'll be okay, been through worse before." She lied.

"Nonsense my dear, that is completely unreasonable. Come, I'll lend you some dry clothes." Before Temari could object Yoshino's strong grip was already around her arm leading her down the hall.

* * *

By the time she reached the little tea house Temari was cold, sore and beyond the point of exhaustion, although thankful for the dry clothing. The dehydration had finally caught up with her, and her headache was agonizing, her body barely responsive, but she was glad to be out of that house, to be far away from that lazy, apathetic, irritating... tantalizingly alluring man. She wanted to scream as the itching urge to rush back into his bed and plant sultry kisses all over his body arose without warning, torturing her almost half as bad as her colossal hangover.

Groaning in frustration she quickly settled down at her favorite table and ordered a pot ginseng oolong tea and a variety of almond cakes to relieve her of her debilitating hangover. As she sat waiting for her tea to arrive she pondered the possibility of avoiding him for the rest of her trip, all the while knowing it was an impossibility due to the fact that he was currently in possession of her fan.

_Damn it Mari! How can you be such an idiot!_ Scowling she poured herself a cup of tea and drank the hot liquid quickly to soothe her quaking nerves. It bothered her that for the past couple of days she was barely in control of her emotions, that the feelings she worked so hard at repressing for the past three or four years were fighting its way to the surface. Throwing back another cup of tea she reproached herself for falling for such an unmotivated, aggravating, chauvinistic crybaby, in a vain attempt to suppress the growing desire to rush back into his arms.

A loud crash at the entrance of the teahouse dispelled her troubled thoughts and she turned toward the commotion. Shaking her head, she chuckled softly to herself as a rambunctious blonde fought his way through the door with an overly-enthusiastic fellow dressed in green jumpsuit and orange leg-warmers.

Finally managing to wrestle free from the blonde, the overly-enthusiastic fellow leapt forward into the teahouse landing firmly on his feet with his arms raised in victory. "HA! The springtime of youth is on my side! You lose Naruto!" He said triumphantly to his defeated friend. "You must train harder and try to defeat me next time!"

A dark cloud formed over Naruto's head as he accepted his defeat. "You win this time Lee... but you better bet that next time I'll beat you for sure, dattebayo!" He exclaimed dissipating the cloud and returning to his usual cheery self. Leaping up he flashed Lee a smile, ready for the next battle.

"That's the spirit Naruto! Now let's see who can finish drinking a pot of hot tea faster!" Without waiting for a response Rock Lee rushed to the nearest empty table and proceeded to order two pots of tea.

"No way I'm going to let you win again, dattebayo!" Naruto yelled as he raced over to his friend, stopping short when he caught sight of Temari sitting in the corner. "Hey Lee, I think that's Temari over there, I'm going to go say hi, don't start without me!"

Temari downed another cup of tea as she watched Naruto bounce toward her. His limitless energy and relentless optimism always managed to liven up her mood a little. His dedication and unwavering loyalty to his friends rescued her brother from his internal torment, and for that she would be eternally grateful to him, but what she needed at that moment was peace and quite to nurse her overwhelming hangover, something his loud and hyperactive presence would only further aggravate.

"Oi, Temari! It is you!" Naruto shouted skidding to a halt as he approached her table. "What brings you here?" He asked taking a seat before waiting for her invitation.

Pouring him a cup of tea she began her explanation, but before she could get the words "I'm in Konoha because..." out of her mouth he suddenly leapt up from his seat interrupting her.

"I KNEW IT!" Naruto screamed as he leapt up, accidentally knocking over the cup of tea she just poured, as a huge grin spread across his face. "You guys ARE dating!"

"Wait, what?" Temari replied flabbergasted, as she feebly attempted to clean up the mess. "What the hell are you talking about? Who's dating?" She asked, her hands shaking slightly as she downed another cup of tea.

"What? Who else! You and Shikamaru of course!" He exclaimed loud enough for the whole teahouse to hear.

Choking on her tea Temari began to cough uncontrollably as the blood rushed to her face. "What the fuck!" She manged to sputter in between coughs. "Who the hell would date _that_ bum!" _You would._

Squinting his eyes Naruto stared intently at the symbol on her sleeve. Convinced his eyes weren't deceiving him he pointed to her arm and cried, "But you're clearly wearing his clan's symbol on your sleeve!"

"What the hell are you talking about!" She spat. Infuriated out of sheer embarrassment Temari reached for her fan, fuming as her hands grasped air and the actual location of her fan came rushing into her mind, along with the images of him sleeping soundly in his bed, beckoning her to join him. She groaned, avoiding Naruto's accusing stare. For the second time this morning she had to avert her gaze, her inability to stand her ground and defend herself vexed her. "WHY THE HELL WOULD I..." She began when the answer hit her like a tidal wave, Yoshino. Temari growled, she always held a high respect for that woman, and now she couldn't tell if she was being played by her.

Although Naruto isn't usually one to catch onto subtle hints, when Temari grabbed for air he realized that her usual overbearing iron fan was not anywhere in sight. "Uhh... Hey Temari... where's that tessen you always have with you?" He asked scratching his head.

"Che. Trou-" She froze, catching herself before that dreadful word made its way onto her lips. _Damn you Nara._

"Oi, oi! You were gonna say '_troublesome,_' dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed, unusually perceptive.

"What no..." Temari denied, annoyed that of all days, he decided that today would be the day he to start picking up subtleties. Pouring herself another cup of tea, she resolved to quickly change the subject. "We're throwing a birthday party for Gaara next week, asking you _if_ you'd like to come is rather silly, since we already know the answer to the question. So yea, it's next week. We already go permission from Hokage-Sama."

"WHAT! IT'S GAARA'S BIRTHDAY NEXT WEEK!" The hyperactive ninja bellowed, causing Lee to perk up and race over to them from the other side of the teahouse.

Upon reaching the table, Lee slammed his hands down in excitement. "WHAT! IT'S GAARA'S BIRTHDAY NEXT WEEK!" He exclaimed, repeating Naurto's exact words.

It took Temari every ounce of will-power to not slap herself on the forehead. Quickly drinking her cup of tea she looked at the two overly enthusiastic ninjas standing before her. "Yes, it's Gaara's birthday next week. And you're both invited to come to Suna to celebrate with us. As I said earlier, Hokage-sama has already given her blessing and ensured that everyone will have the necessary time off to attend."

"This is the greatest news ever!" Lee said with vigor, pumping his fists in the air. "To think we'd have the honor of celebrating with Gaara the wondrous occasion of his birth! In preparation for this stupendous event I shall train twice as hard every day until the designated date."

"Heh, heh, heh." Naruto laughed softly to himself. "Now to think of the perfect present..."

"Perfect present?" Lee asked quizzically.

Finishing her pot of tea Temari watched as Naruto and Rock Lee excitedly argued over what presents to get Gaara. Satisfied with her distraction, Temari quickly shoved a few cakes in her mouth before dropped enough coins on the table to cover her bill and quickly slipping out of the teahouse.

* * *

Yawning Shikamaru stretched out his limbs before rolling over on to the empty space beside him. A slow smile broke across his lips as he buried his face in the pillow, inhaling that faint scent of lavender and mint. Then it suddenly hit him, she wasn't there, and he was alive. Groggily he rolled over and sat up, rubbing the back of his neck as he let out another yawn. _That was one hellava dream_. He thought, as he wrapped the blankets around himself again and collapsed back onto the bed.

"Ow." He mumbled to himself rubbing his right elbow. "What the hell was that?" Struggling free from the cocoon he made out of the blankets his eyes slowly fell upon the over-sized iron fan lying haphazardly next to him. Feeling a smirk tug at his lips he lifted the heavy object feeling its weight in his hands before gently setting it aside. _So it wasn't a dream..._

From the moment he opened the door to leave his room he felt the eyes of his domineering mother following him. Although he was used to the constant nagging and threatening presence of his mother, especially in the mornings when he neglected to wake on time or complete a task she requested of him the day before, never has her glare burned a more uncomfortable hole on the back of his head. What unnerved him even more than her death stare and constant lurking was the fact that she was eerily silent. He had never known his mother to be silent on a matter, especially while stalking him around the house.

"What?" He asked suddenly, whipping around to face her, annoyed with her antics.

Her gazed hardened as her son turned to face her, the words refusing to form on her lips. Ever since Temari left, she had been standing in front of his door, trying to find the right words to reprimand him with, but when he finally emerged, she found that for once she was at a loss for words. She couldn't even bring herself to reproach him, all she could do was follow him, hoping that he would offer an explaination.

"Mom, you're really creeping me out." He mumbled as he racked his brain for all the reasons she could possibly have for being mad at him, but for once nothing came up.

"What the relationship between you and Temari-chan?" She finally asked coolly as the made their way into the dining room.

"Wait, what?"

Shikaku couldn't help but chuckle at his son's current predicament. His wife could be quite overbearing at times, but he knew inside she was just concerned for her only son.

"Don't 'what' me young man! I saw her coming out of your room this morning!" She exclaimed to Shikaku's amusement and Shikamaru's mortification.

Shikamaru was stunned, that was one thing he most definitely did not expect. Although he knew the events of last night was purely innocent, he was sure that his mother had other ideas swimming in her mind. It was early, and this was definitely not the discussion he wanted to have first thing in the morning.

"Oi, Yoshino... Leave the poor boy alone." Shikaku said in his son's defense.

"But..." Yoshino began before sighing and dropping the subject. She wasn't one to easily concede defeat, but if her husband believes it's best for her to stop, she'll do so, knowing he will either have a suitable explanation or face her wrath.

Sighing in relief Shikamaru mouthed a "thank you" to his dad before quickly sitting down and inhaling his breakfast.

* * *

**/whew... done.**

**I hope you guys enjoyed it. I promise to have the next chapter up soon... and not make you wait a year again. :P**

**Please review if you enjoyed it. Thanks. 3**


	6. Early Morning

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. (c) Masashi Kishimoto**

* * *

As she stepped from the teahouse she found herself crossing her arms in an effort to cover the symbol blatantly plastered on each of her arms. She needed to get back to that house and change, there's no way she could go around the whole day wearing this. Running around in cold wet clothing, anything else, nothing was better than this. Slowly cursing her fate, she mumbled angrily to herself. The irregular beating of her heart irked her, the lightheaded feeling in her head when she though about him irked her, the very fact that he was still on her mind taunting her, irked her. Lost in her thoughts as she slowly made her way down the street, she failed to see the pair making their way toward her until she heard her name break the silence in the air.

"Hey, Temari!"

Temari groaned as her eyes fell upon the two girls quickly approaching her, pink and blonde hair trailing behind them. The last thing she needed right now was those two seeing her in Yoshino's clothes. Although she had only visited Konoha a handful of times, even she knew that nothing escaped their attention, and that everything they observed was subject to gossip. If Naurto had caught on to the fact that she had his clan's symbol plastered all over her, there was no way those two would miss it, and before the sun set that day, all of Konoha would be aware of the fact that she, Sabaku no Temari, daughter of the Fourth Kazekage, sister of Gaara, the Fifth Kazekage, was wearing the Nara clan's symbol on her arms, which had to undoubtedly mean that they were dating.

"Sakura... Ino." She said through clenched teeth, forcing a smile onto her face as the two girls stopped in front of her.

"Good morning Temari!" Ino beamed, flashing Temari a bright cheery smile, all her apprehensions of the scowling, grouchy sand kunoichi gone. Chouji had been right, she was a good person, and she was almost nice, in a 'I'm always pissed off so leave me the fuck alone... unless your name was Shikamaru' kind of way. In the few hours they spent together the day before, Ino saw her compassionate and almost playful side. She saw the amusing way the fiery kunoichi interacted with her languid friend, the way she was able to coax interest into his usually indifferent eyes.

Temari grimaced at the shrillness of the girl's voice. Although the desires to pound the poor girl's face into the ground has subsided for the moment, Temari was in no way on friendly terms with the bubbly blonde. Ino was simply tolerable for the moment.

"Oi, Temari, are you okay?" Sakura asked studying Temari's face, noting the grimace and unusual stance. Although she wouldn't consider herself particularly close with Temari, for the amount of time they spent together was few and far in between, she knew Temari well enough to know that walking around hugging herself was not the fiery blonde's usual gait.

"Huh? Yea. Why wouldn't I be?" Temari replied, irritated. Not that she wasn't appreciative of Sakura's concern, but she had bigger problems to deal with, like getting out of Yoshino's clothes, and getting her fan back.

"It's just... are you cold?" The pink haired med-nin asked moving closer to Temari, attempting to see if there was any visual signs of illness. She was aware that January mornings in Konoha were usually colder than January mornings in Suna, but with the rain last night the low pressure system had lifted, and this morning was uncharacteristically pleasant for the time of year.

"No." She said shortly, as she fought her hands from flying to her hips.

"Hmmm... Then why are you hugging yourself?" Sakura questioned, eying her suspiciously.

Temari mentally slapped herself on the head. "..." _Damn it I should have said yes._ Knowing she had managed to talked her way into a corner with one simple word, she wished the ground beneath her would just open up and swallow her whole, for this would have to be the worse possible day of her life.

Ino cocked her head at the two girls, as Sakura continued to pound Temari with hoards of useless questions. As she watched her friend press the sand kunoichi for answers, she couldn't help but wonder what it was about Temari that was different this morning. Ever since they caught sight of Temari leaving the teahouse, Ino felt that there was definitely something off about Temari's appearance, perhaps it was the unusual way Temari was standing, but try as she might Ino just couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"HEY! SAKURA-CHAAAAAAAAAAAN!"

_No, no, no... oh please God no._ Temari felt the pounding in her head, which had gradually subsided thanks to the tea, return with vehemence as the loud boisterous cry rang out across the village.

* * *

As Shikamaru quietly slipped out of the house, he was thankful that his father had come to his rescue and relieved him of his mother's interrogation. Not that he had anything to hide when it came to his relationship with Temari, but he knew that his mother would never accept the simple yet brutally honest explanation that their relationship was nothing more than a platonic friendship. Well, a platonic friendship that was quickly spiraling in to something much more troublesome, but he certainly wouldn't tell her that, he barely wanted to admit it to himself.

A long time ago he told himself that he wanted a simple mundane life, that he wanted an average wife, not too pretty, not too ugly, of average intelligence, but then she came into his life, and like a whirlwind uprooted everything and turned his life upside down. Now try as he might, he could never seem to shake her from his mind, she managed to weasel her way into his life and into his heart, and as troublesome as she was, as troublesome as she makes his life, he can't seem to pull himself away. Even now, when every inch of his body is screaming for him to just run the other way, he finds himself one step closer to her.

Shifting the heavy weight on his back, he feels a smirk tug on the corner of his lips as his slowly makes his way to the far end of town. She was one troublesome woman, but it didn't matter to him anymore, all he could think about at that moment was her beautiful eyes, and that smile, that one little smile that he knew she reserved only for him, a lifetime of pain and suffering, of troublesome days, was worth it if it meant that she would never stop smiling that smile for him.

* * *

"Hey, Sakura-chan, did you know Temari's dating Shikamaru!"

Temari growled, if Gaara wasn't so fond of Naruto, if Gaara wouldn't kill her for dismembering his friend, if she didn't have to keep her arms safely in place, if she had her fan on her, Naruto would most definitely have been shot half-way to Suna in pieces by now, but no, she _had _to leave her fan in his arms, Gaara _had _to be friends with him.

"For the last time Naruto..." she hissed through gritted teeth, "I'm NOT dating that slacker-clown!" Oh how she longed to pummel him into the ground with her trusty fan, oh how she wished the words escaping her mouth wasn't true.

"Yea Naruto, they're like totally NOT dating." Ino chirped, pounding the message home.

"But-" Naruto started, before an intense glare from Temari forced him to stop.

"No, like trust me Naruto... if they WERE dating, I would like know." The bubble blonde cut in. She knew, especially since she spent the better part of the day before with him that he had yet to make a move, although she was pretty sure, that by the time Gaara's party rolled around the situation would be a little different.

Although it was not her intention, Ino's words stung, and Temari couldn't help but feel like it was a personal attack on her, on the undisclosed desires of her heart. Not that what the girl said wasn't true, it was in fact very true, there was absolutely no romantic relationship between them, yet hearing that revelation pounded home by one of his closest friends, struck a chord deep inside her heart. She had been so sure of his feelings, although he never voiced them, the way they would banter, the little things he said, the small gestures he made, the damn book for crying out loud, but now, doubt and uncertainty plagued her mind, and she felt that slow burning in the pit of her stomach rise up and consume her with uninhibited rage.

Turning her attention from Naruto and his outrageous claims that Temari was dating Shikamaru, Ino beamed at Temari, choosing to push aside the obvious irritation on the older kunoichi's face. "By the way Temari, did you like do something different today?" Ino asked curiously, her big blue eyes shinning in the growing morning light.

"Huh? No." Temari replied curtly, trying her best to swallow her fury.

"Hmmm..." Ino mused, staring intently at Temari, determined to figure out what it was about the fiery blonde that was so different this morning. Then it suddenly hit her like a five ton truck. It irked her slightly that it had taken her twenty excruciating minuets to finally notice the obvious deviation from Temari's norm. "Oh! Hey Temari, like where's your tessen?"

In an instant the anger she had been attempting to suppress flared within her and roared through her veins. "Do. Not. Bring. Up. My. Tessen." She spat, with more venom in her voice than she had expected.

Missing the severity of the situation, and the intensity of the anger in her voice, Rock Lee turned his attention from his beloved Sakura and focused his large round eyes, now full of concern onto Temari. "But Temari-san, you always have your tessen on you!" He exclaimed, his voice full of passion and concern. "Is something the matter, most precious sister of Gaara?"

Temari glared at him, his concern did not elude her, but it did not help pacify her mounting rage. "Che," she scoffed, as her hands tightened around her upper arms. "I don't want to talk about it."

"But Tema-"

"Look, I'm having a bad morning, okay?" She said interrupted, suppressing the urge to disembowel the overly-enthusiastic ninja.

"Oh no! We must help Temari-san!" Lee exclaimed enthusiastically to the group, perhaps it was the fact that he was immune to intense glares given his relationship with Neji, but it seemed that Temari's piercing stare was having no effect on the boy's determination to amend her distress.

Temari's scowl intensified. Although she knew he meant well, she knew they all meant well, she couldn't fight the desire to maim every last one of them. What was she supposed to do? Say, "_Well, you know, everything would be just dandy if I didn't wake up naked and hungover next to the guy I had a crush on for the past five years, and had to concede to leaving my most prized possession behind so I wouldn't wake him up and face my humiliation. But thanks, thanks for your concern. Oh and his mother decided that I should wear his clan's symbol plastered all over me to further my humiliation, and to make all his friends believe we're dating, when to my dismay we are not because he is too fucking lazy to make a move._"

She wanted to scream, to lash out and release all her pent up emotions. She needed to get away, to distant herself from them lest she go homicidal and cause an international incident. "Look, I need to go." She said as calmly as possible, and quickly turned from them, walking away before they had a chance to protest. As she found herself making her way toward the Suna embassy, she convinced herself that it was better to go there than anywhere else, for the likelihood of running into anyone else was slimmer there, that and the fact that she had been in Konoha for two days already and had neglected to check-in with the embassy. For all they knew she was still out on her mission.

* * *

Closing the heavy door, he stepped back into the early morning light, stifled a yawn and shoved his hands deep into his pockets. The guard had been edgy and confused, but it mattered little to him, he knew that she would show up, and that was all that really mattered in the end.

Looking up toward the little teahouse he knew she would undoubtedly be at a frown slowly made its way across his lips. In the middle of the street stood none other than Temari, surrounded by Naruto, Rock Lee, Sakura and Ino. Although they were talking rather quietly, especially for that particular group, he could almost feel the deathly aura emanating from her body. Suppressing a shudder, and glad he was still undetected, he quickly checked the time before deftly jumping to the roof of the nearest building and disappearing from sight.

If it was up to him, he'd be on his way home at that very moment, he'd be rushing back into his warm comfy bed and burying his face in her scent, or he'd be off to a secluded hill, lying in the damp grass and losing himself in the clouds, but unfortunately, he had responsibilities that could not be neglected, promises he must uphold, so he found himself making his way toward the Yamanka flower shop.

Upon landing in front of the all too familiar flower shop, he furrowed his brows and let out a sigh. They were closed, not really a surprise, although he had hoped that for once, things would be easy, that they didn't have to be so troublesome, but given the fact that this was his life, things never really worked out quite the way he wanted it to. Accepting the fact that life decided to make things difficult for him again, he let out an exaggerated yawn and slumped up against the wall next to the entrance to the shop, allowing his legs fall out under him as he collapsed to the floor and leaned his head back against the wall before closing his eyes.

* * *

Grumbling softly to herself she slammed open the door to the heavy door of the embassy with more force than she had intended. She had half a mind to rush back to his house, grab her fan from his bed and demand her clothes back from Yoshino, but the prospect of running into him and having to explain herself mortified her and she found herself drained her of her resolve. Storming into the embassy, she prayed that the guard on duty that day was not only ignorant of Konoha's clans, but also smart enough to not say a word to her as she checked in.

Stunned by the over-exaggerated opening of the door, the guard bolted upright, knowing all too well who he would expect. If the violence bestowed upon the innocent door wasn't assurance enough, the heavy package lying in front of him, and well the fact that the ninja dropping off said package hadn't already insinuated she would be coming through the very act of bringing the package, told him it could be none other than Temari.

She advanced toward the desk, stopping abruptly as her eyes fell upon the long package sitting candidly upon the polished wooden surface. Suddenly all her emotions erupted within her, she was ecstatic and relieved that he had spared her the embarrassment of retrieving the object from him, yet in a way she was heartbroken and devastated that she no longer had the opportunity to confront him about her feelings, annoyed and angry that perhaps Ino's words in fact held the truth her heart refused to allow her to believe, and frustrated that once again, he manged to infiltrate her mind and wreak havoc on her emotions. Speechless, she gaped stupidly at the object, attempting to pacify the storm raging within her, forgetting about the guard all together.

He watched as she entered the building like a hurricane, he wasn't exactly surprised that she was enraged, although he was new, he had heard enough about her to know that she had quite a temper, which flared for the most unusual reasons, and although he wasn't surprised he wasn't any less nervous. It was when she suddenly froze inches from his desk, the snarl on her face relaxing into a delicate and confused, and almost cute expression, did he finally relax and work up the courage to clear his throat and say, "Temari-sama?"

Hearing guard clear his throat and speak her name snapped her out of her trance, and she quickly regained her composure as her eyes narrowed and that scowl, that perfectly executed scowl, slowly crept its way across her flawless features again. "What is this?" She demanded, pointing to the package, that was more than obviously her fan.

"Leaf ninja dropped it off for you..." He said slowly, hoping that her anger wouldn't flare.

"Hn..." She grunted, before quickly picking up the package, glad that he was one of the newer guards, who didn't recognize Shikamaru, and hopefully wouldn't recognize the symbol on her arms.

"... I think it was Nara, or something like that." He finished, as she grabbed the package from the table and turned to leave. "Ano... Temari-sama...?"

Angrily she whipped about, annoyed that he did in fact recognize Shikamaru, and that now he was preventing her from leaving. "What?" She spat.

"... You haven't finished checking in yet." He replied quickly after a second of hesitation.

She growled softly to herself, before she slowly approached the desk again. "Right..."

"Well, we just need you to fill out these two forms and you can be on your way. Arrangements have already been made for you at the inn." He said, his hands shaking nervously as he hastily pulled out the necessary paperwork for her.

Noticing his agitation due to her current mood she couldn't help but feel slightly bad for the guy. He had clearly heard the horror stories of her foul temper from the other guards, but evidently he had never been informed that although her anger came quick and fierce, she had never laid a hand on anyone at the embassy, regardless of how utterly pissed off she was. "Calm down newbie, I'm not gonna bite you." She said with a smirk as she grabbed the papers from him and wrote as quickly as she could.

* * *

He hadn't realized that he had fallen asleep until a sharp pain in his side woke him in the most uncomfortable way. Before he opened his eyes he already knew who the foot that collided with his ribs belonged to, for her shrill voice was already infiltrating his head.

"Like what the hell Shikamaru!" Ino screamed, retracting her foot from his side. "Who would like come buy flowers from us if there's like a bum sleeping outside the store."

Stretching out his limbs he yawned heavily before regarding her with a glare. "The store is closed Ino, no one would come either way." He said shortly as he slowly stood up.

"Hmn, technicalities." She retorted as she turned to unlock the door and switch on the lights of the little shop. "What are you like doing here anyway?"

"I need sunflowers." He said, slowly following her into the store.

Turning to face him she slowly narrowed her big blue eyes and looked at him quizzically. "Sunflowers?"

"Yes."

She chuckled softly to herself and shook her head slowly. "Ummm... Shika... you like do realize it's like January, right? Sunflowers are like a summer flower..."

He stared at her, a slight annoyance gleamed in his eyes, betraying his otherwise indifferent expression. "Che," he scoffed, "Then just give me a bouquet of anything."

"Anything?" She cooed, as a knowing smirk spread across her lips. If he was finally ready to confess to Temari, she would be more than willing to help, and if there was one thing she knew, it was the way to a girl's heart through flowers.

He watched as her eyes twinkled mischievously and her expression betrayed her thoughts. "Fine, then give me a bouquet of yellow roses, white chrysanthemums, daffodils, purple irises, and a few sprigs of white heather."*****

"..." Ino frowned as he listed the flowers he wanted in the bouquet, for two things instantly hit her; the first being the fact that he evidently knew his flowers, which wouldn't have been strange being that he's a genus and all, but he was Shikamar, and Shikamaru didn't give a damn about flowers. The second thing that struck her was the fact that the flowers he wanted would make his bouquet the most platonic bouquet of flowers ever created, it simply screamed "I just want to be friends." She half a mind to just give him two dozen red roses and be done with it, but she _HAD_ to question his answer of "just give me anything," and he just _HAD_ to come up with a perfectly decent, sincere, and sweet, if they were just friends, list of flowers.

"Well?" He asked indifferently. It really didn't matter what kind of flowers he got at this point, it wasn't like she would think twice about them either way. He had wanted sunflowers because they were bright and pretty, and in a way reminded him of Temari, but since they were evidently out of season and Ino was going to get the wrong idea either way, he decided to just go with something appropriate.

"Fine..." she droned, dragging out the word in order to express her reluctance to oblige.

He watched silently as she pranced around the store, grabbing all the necessary flowers before carefully arranging them. He knew that he would probably get a lecture again for bringing the flowers, that she would most likely think the flowers were excessive, that the very notion that he was there was enough, but it had been over a month since he last saw her, and quite frankly, he felt guilty. There wasn't many thing in his life that he took seriously, and this, this probably ranked top three. So taking the extra time to ensure he did more than what was just simply required of him was necessary, even if it meant going out of his way, for it was one of the few things in his life he actually didn't find troublesome.

"Here." Ino said, shoving the flowers into his face. "Is there like anything else you need?"

Grabbing the flowers from her he quickly contemplated her question. He was at a flower shop, he got flowers he needed for his visit, what else would he possibly need? He didn't like particularly like flowers, they were a pain, you have to find a vase and put them in water, only to have them die in a couple of days, but then Temari's smile flashed into his mind, and in an instant he knew exactly what else he needed. "... uh, do you happen to have a karabana?"******

Ino cocked her head to the left and raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

"Yes, why wouldn't I be?" He replied flatly.

"It's just that... uhhh... well it's like a hella rare flower, when did you like get all into flowers?" She crossed her arms and took a step back so she could better examined his face. "Who are you and like what did you do to Shikamaru?" She asked narrowing her eyes at him.

He ignored her as she began to circle him, eying him suspiciously, spouting nonsense about how he did in fact _look_ like Shikamaru. When it became perfectly clear to him that she was not going to let up until he said something, he let out an exasperated sigh and said, "You asked Chouji and I to go fetch one from the Northern Cliffs a couple of years ago."

His words made her stop in her tracks, he was right, she did ask them to go get one for her a couple of years ago, and that certainly explained why he knew the flower, but it still didn't answer the question of why he now wants one. "So?" she said defiantly, "It's not like you guys succeeded. If I remember correctly you guys came back empty handed."

"Well do you have one or not?" He asked, dismissing her last statement.

"No. They're not in season." She said as she made her way behind the counter and sat down in front of the register. "Besides, you evidently know how hard it is to actually acquire one."

"Whatever."

* * *

Temari clutched the package close to her as she made her way to the inn, whispering, "I'll never leave you again baby..." Although she had only parted from it for a little less than three hours, it was the longest they had been apart since they first met ten years ago. She blamed Shikamaru for their separation, not the alcohol, not her stupidity the night before, definitely not her embarrassment, no, she blamed _him_.

Settling into her room at the inn she finally had the chance to peel off the little note and unwrap her fan, swinging it open with a flick of her wrist, just to reassure herself that it was in fact back in her possession. Snapping it shut again she gingerly picked up the note that had accompanied it and slowly unfolded it, as her heart pounded wildly in her chest. A little voice in her head reproached her for being so nervous, chastised her for allowing him to lose control of herself, reminded her that it was just a note, like the hundred others he's sent her, mocked her saying _I told you so_ as the words hastily scribbled registered in her head.

_You forgot this._

_p.s. my mom told me to tell you that your clothes are dry...?_

Tossing the note aside she adjusted the obi around her waist to accommodate her fan, and exited the room, glad that she could finally change back into her own clothes.

* * *

**A/N: I know, this was a pretty long chapter for a filler but whatever. :P I liked it, even though parts of it was hella hard to write, so bleh!~ But yea... as fillerish as it is, it was necessary for the story so deal with it. Next chapter will have them interact. Promises. :3**

*** - Flower meanings: **_Yellow Roses - joy, friendship; White Chrysanthemums - truth, loyal love; Daffodils - joy, happiness; Purple Irises - wisdom, compliments; White Heather - protection, wishes will come true_

**** Karabana:** If you played _Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 2_ and did all the requests, you'll know what I'm referring to. :3 If you didn't play the game, or do all the requests, there's a request in the game where Shikamaru indirectly gives Temari that flower.


	7. Mentors

**Disclaimer: I do not own naruto... Kishi does.**

**It's short, I hope you enjoy it. :) Please review if you do. I like reviews.**

* * *

Temari smiled as she wrapped the obi around her waist, it was as if the simple act of putting on her own clothes had the power to wipe away the unpleasantries of the morning. Thinking back on it she realized how uncharacteristically foolish she had been. _Of course nothing happened between me and Shikamaru last night, and honestly, when was I ever one to actually care about what Naruto and company though of me anyway? So what if they all believed that I was dating that lazy-ass, narcissistic, know-it-all, it's not like it would change the fact that I wasn't..._

Sighing she secured her heavy tessen to her back, grabbed his mother's clothes and exited his room. It bothered her that nowadays every time she thought about him her head began to hurt, why couldn't it just go back to the way it used to be, when he was simply her closest confidant.

Pushing all the unpleasant thoughts from her mind she put on her best smile and entered the kitchen. "Thank you so much Yoshino-san, sorry for being such a bother." She said with a slight bow, as she handed Yoshino back the clothes she borrowed a few hours ago.

"No need for such formalities my dear," Yoshino said as she took the clothes and gestured for Temari to stop bowing. "Besides, you're like a daughter to me, and I want you to know that you're always welcome to anything in this house."

Temari couldn't help as the blood rushed to her face. She couldn't begin to imagine what his mother imagined when she saw her leaving Shikamaru's room that morning, between the daughter comment now, and the clothes with the Nara clan's symbol on it, she was convinced that the woman truly believed that they were an item. "That's really sweet of you Yoshino-san, I'm really glad you consider me a part of your family, it's a real honor... and I'm not just saying that to be polite."

Yoshino chuckled. "What's wrong my dear? Why so formal today? You're usually so much more causal and unrestrained."

"To be honest, I don't know..." the usually fiery blonde said as she fiddled with the straps holding her tessen in place. "I've just been having a really strange day I suppose..."

"I suppose we all have days like that from time to time." Shikamaru's mother said smiling, acknowledging the fact that Temari seemed uncomfortable and anxious to leave. "I won't keep you any longer my dear, you seem to be heading out now, but I was wondering if you would be back tonight for dinner. We really missed you yesterday."

A small smile tugged at the corner of Temari's mouth. If there was anything about the Naras' that she would have to say she loved, it would have to be their perceptiveness. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I won't be. I've checked into the embassy this morning and they already secured me a room at the inn. Thank you so much for your hospitality these past few days though."

"Oh? Well that's a shame," Yoshino said with what Temari perceived as a slight smirk. "Shikama- I mean we'll miss having you around here. It was such a delight having another woman in the house, sometimes those two could be such a drag."

She felt the left side of her face twitch slightly as his mother not only used one of his catch phrases but also not-so-subtle made a jab at their non-existent relationship. Swallowing her pride Temari decided that if anyone could help her with her current predicament it would have to be the woman standing in front of her now. "Yoshino-san, I have a quick question for you before I head out..."

"Oh?" The older woman said in a pleasent surprise. "What's bothering you my dear?"

Temari bit her lower lip. "Well, you see... I was just wondering... what you did to get Shikaku-san to make the first move?"

Yoshino fought hard to not let out a laugh, and instead a small chuckle escaped her. "Nothing." She said almost laughing.

"What do you mean nothing?" Temari asked in exasperation. This was her last resort, if Yoshino couldn't give her some advice on how to get that slacker-clown to just confess to her already she was going to implode. The stress of acting normal around him, especially after last night was slowly driving her insane.

"Honestly, I didn't do anything." Yoshino said, calming down. "He came around to it on his own. Although I swear, if he hadn't I probably would have forced my foot down his throat."

"Wait, what? So what the hell am I supposed to do now?" Temari said more to herself than Yoshino.

Yoshino frowned. After the initial shock of the whole situation that morning, and conceding to the fact that her son had not done anything dishonorable, she was actually kind of excited at the prospect that he had finally ask the poor girl out and that she could finally welcome the daughter she never had into her life. Evidently it was all just wishful thinking on her part and her son was indeed the lazy ass sack of bones that she had believed him to be. "He'll come around, and if he doesn't, I'm sure you'll figure it out my dear."

"I hope so, because I swear to god, I'm going to kill that boy if he doesn't do anything soon."

* * *

He yawned as he shifted the flowers in his hands and knocked on the door. Three years ago he never in his wildest dreams would have imagined that this is what he would be doing on a Saturday day morning, but life throws you a curve ball once in a while.

"SHIIIIKAA!" A shrill voice called from inside as the loud pounding of footsteps got louder.

Shikamaru couldn't help but let a small smile escape the corner of his lips as he heard the high-pitched squeal of his name and the door swung open. "Why hello there Miyoko, how's my favorite little girl doing?" He asked as he bent down and picked her up.

"Yay flowers!" the little girl squealed as she wiggled in his arms in an attempt to grab at them.

"They're not for you Miyo, they're for your mama." He said stepping into the house and closing the door with a light tap of his foot.

"You brought flowers again, Shikamaru?" A repremanding voice called from inside the house. "How many times must I tell you that it's unnecessary."

Shikamaru yawned and replied with, "twenty-seven, not that anyone's counting."

"Then how come you keep bringing them?" The woman asked emerging from the kitchen. wiping her hands with a dishtowel.

"Because I know what you do with them." He said, handing her the flowers and letting Miyoko scramble out of his arms to cling to her mother, begging for a flower with her eyes.

The woman smiled at the younger shinobi, her crimson eyes the only thing betraying a hint of grief. "Thank you."

He smiled a weak smile and plopped himself onto the couch. "It's the least I could do, Kurenai-sensei."

"You do more than enough." Kurenai said as she pulled a chrysanthemum from the bouquet and handed it to Miyoko.

"It never feels like it's enough though." He said letting out a sigh.

Kurenai frowned slightly. She could never convince the kid that he had done more for her and her family than she could ever ask for. "Enough depressing talk, how are things going with Temari?"

He let out an exaggerated groaned and rubbed the back of his neck. "She beats me with her fan."

Kurenai could help but chuckle at his supposed dejection. "So I take it things are good?"

Raising an eyebrow he looked over at her and smirked. "Yeah, things are good."

"Who's Temari?" Miyoko chripped in her singsong voice as she bounced over to him.

"The pretty lady with the giant fan you met at your last birthday party." Shikamaru said tapping her on the nose.

Miyoko stared at him blankly and shrugged. "Don't remember."

"It's okay," he said, lifting her up onto the couch, "I'm sure you'll meet her again soon."

Kurenai smiled as she watched him interact with her daughter. It was a shame Miyoko's father would never be able to witness his star pupil become the man they both knew he would be. "So you've finally asked her out?" She asked, hopefully.

"No, not exactly." He stated blankly, as he continued to Miyoko pull the petals off the chrysanthemum.

"What are you waiting for?" Kurenai almost screamed out of frustration. She knew he could be quite unmotivated and disinterested in things at times, but she knew better when it came to Temari. With Temari he was different, with Temari he did things he would normally never do, with Temari he never showed indifference and even seemed eager at times.

He shrugged.

"What are you scared of?" She asked out of frustration.

The question made him stiffen up slightly and look over at the woman. She had just hit the nail on the head. "Honestly?" He said in a half whisper, "Temari."

"Temari?" She questioned. "What about Temari? That she'd violently reject you? That's impo-"

"No, not violent rejection." He interrupted. "Rejection I could stomach. Her violence I put up with on a daily basis. It's the thought of _being with_Temari that I'm afraid of. Asuma-sensei had it easy. When he asked you out, he knew he was going to end up with one of the nicest, most caring, and untroublesome women in the village. Me? I would end up with a loud-mouth, overbearing, violent brute of a woman, who I swear is more troublesome than my mother, and my simple life of quiet idleness would be lost forever. With Temari, my childhood dream of marrying a normal girl, not too ugly, not too pretty, have two children, first a girl then a boy, retire after my girl is married, and live out the rest of my days playing shōgi or Go, would be shattered, and I would be stuck with the most troublesome woman in all five nations, struggling to stay alive and evade the next blow to my head from that troublesome fan of hers. Knowing her, I'd end up with two daughters who are just as loud and troublesome as their mother, never having a moment of peace again."

Kurenai was taken aback by his little rant. She had always believe that he almost idolized the woman, that in a way they were perfect for each other. Never in her wildest dreams would she have thought that this is what he was really thinking whenever it came to Temari. "So that's it? You're just going to give up on her?"

If he were to make the effort to show emotion at that point in time he probably would have looked extremely shocked and somewhat offended, but he was Shikamaru, and instead he just started at her with a very slight frown. "No, I never said that. I just said I was terrified of the thought of being with her."

"Oh." She said with a sigh of relief. "So what do you think life would be like if you don't end up with her."

"Hell." He said simply as he gathered up the chrysanthemum petals covering the couch.

"So all that you just described before wouldn't be considered hell to you?"

"Heh." He chuckled. "No, that's just life with Temari. Troublesome. Hell on the other hand, well hell is never being able to look into her green eyes. Hell is never seeing her smile again, never hearing that laugh of hers that she hates. Hell is never having to duck from the violent swing of her tessen. Hell is never being surronded by that scent of lavender and mint. Hell is never hearing her call me a slacker-clown, or a crybaby, or a lazy-ass, or an asshole, or a moronic-genius. Hell is having her stuck in my head for the rest of my life only to lose her to some other man."

Kurenai found herself chuckling softly to herself. He was quite smitten by that woman, and here she thought he was ready to throw in the towel because life would be too _troublesome_. "Well it sounds to me that you are quite ready to face your fears."

Shikamaru looked over at his former sensei's lover and smiled a genuine smile. "I suppose you might be right Kurenai-sensei."


End file.
